Life Goes On
by jgreen
Summary: Leo went over the falls with Vanessa saving Greenlee's life. Mother and son both died on that day... or did they?
1. Did He Survive?

David, Trey, Anna, Mary, and Woody stood in worry outside Greenlee's hospital room. How was she going to take this? The divers hadn't been able to find either Leo or Vanessa. Well, their bodies anyway. It had been too long. There was no way they could have survived this long without being reached. But one of the divers had been found something – Leo's jacket. Anna had it in her arms. Leo loved that jacket; and now it was here as proof that he was really gone.

"I should show her," David volunteered. "She'll listen to me."

"We should all go in, David," his ex-wife tried to convince him. "We all love Greenlee, and maybe if she feels like we are all there for her…"

"No," David soundly rejected her idea. "This is hell for her. The worst thing we can do is overwhelm her and make her feel like we are ganging up on her. Maybe I can reason with her. Maybe I can somehow make this all okay. If it wasn't for me, Leo would still be here – with his wife." He meaningfully looked at Anna as he said those final three words. "It's my fault and I need to help her through this. I'm going in there, alone." David grabbed the jacket and slowly made his way through the door.

Greenlee was on the phone ordering someone on the other end to get to the falls and search for Leo. "Money is not an option!" she screamed. "Just get down there and find my husband!... I don't care how rough those rapids are, that's why I'm calling you!... Well, thanks for nothing!" Greenlee slammed the phone in frustration. Leo was still missing and somehow she had to get to him. "I won't give up on you, Leo," she whispered.

"Greenlee," David softly got her attention.

She immediately noticed the leather jacket in his hand. "Where did you get that? Did they find him? Did they find Leo? Please David, I need some good news." She looked at him with puppy dog eyes. He could see the tears filling up those brown beauties. They wanted to come out but Greenlee was forcibly restraining them.

David handed her the jacket and she held it up to her face, trying to find a piece of Leo in it – his smell, his touch… anything. "You don't have any good news for me, do you, David?"

He shook his head. David wished so badly to be able to fix everything, but it was too late. "I'm sorry, Greenlee. I'm so, so sorry."

"He's alive. I know he is," she countered. "Finding his jacket doesn't prove anything. He must have taken it off in the water to make it easier to swim, or maybe it fell off him when… I know he's still out there, and we have to find him. He's out there all alone and he needs me!"

"I wish it was true, Greenlee," David tried to reason with her. "But even if he survived the fall, the police said it's impossible for someone to stay alive in those waters for this long."

"No!" she interrupted him. "I can't believe that. I won't!"

Greenlee wrapped her arms around Leo's jacket and held it close. David looked at her with empathy. He wanted more than anything to give her peace, but as long as she was holding onto hope of Leo being alive, that would be impossible.

"I've heard stories, you know," Greenlee argumentatively told him, "of people that lose someone and they just know. They could be halfway across the world, and they know, the exact moment that it happens. And I don't feel that. Leo and I were more connected than anyone on this planet. So I would know if he was gone. I would know it. But I don't have that feeling. I know he is still out there, David, and he needs me."

"I know you want to believe that, Greenlee. But…"

"No, David! No buts. He is out there! He has to be!" she cried out as the tears she had been holding in began to run down her face. "He has to be," she barley choked out the final words.

David came over to her and sat next to her on her bed. The tears were coming out full force now as he put his arm around his sister-in-law. She buried her face in his chest as her eyes emptied out. Her crying was uncontrollable now.

"I'm going to take care of you, Greenlee," he tried to reassure her. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

Anna was watching the scene through the window of the room. She remembered what it was like when she lost her baby all those years ago and she understood what Greenlee was going through. There was nothing worse than losing someone that meant the world to you. Leo was her life. How was she supposed to move on?

----------

Bubba was your classic muscle guy. Six foot four, about 275 pounds, not the smartest guy around. He would have been a great NFL lineman if he could have stayed out of trouble. Now he made his living as muscle for hire and his current job was interesting enough. Apparently, this drug boss named Proteus had millions of dollars hidden away, and he was getting in on the action. All he had to do was follow orders, and he was promised ten percent of the money when they found it.

When his phone started to vibrate, a smile formed on his face. He had good news to tell.

"Yeah, boss."

"Bubba," the masked voice on the other end began. "Status report."

"I got one of them. The guy is still alive."

"And Vanessa?"

"She aint' talking to us. Saw her dead body washed up on the shore, boss. I disposed of it."

"Good work, Bubba. That had to have been Vanessa's attempt to go for the money and get her son to leave with her. Her soft spot for him was her undoing - so she must have showed him where the money is. Get him to talk. Find the money."

"And then what do you want me to do with this guy, boss?" Bubba asked.

"We don't leave loose ends, Bubba. Find the money – then kill him."

"You got it, boss."

Bubba hung up the phone and walked over to the man handcuffed to the table. He was in rough shape, but remarkably had no serious injuries. "Time to wake up duPres. Time to make me a very rich man."


	2. Two Lives at Risk

"Anna, Anna," David shook his ex-wife. "She's gone! Greenlee, she's gone!"

Anna had fallen asleep in one of the chairs outside of Greenlee's room. Recent events had left her exhausted so a minute of lying back was more than enough time to put her fast asleep.

"Anna! Did you see her? Do you know where she went?"

"Calm down, David. I'm sure there is no reason to be so alarmed. So just take a deep breath for me – good. Maybe she is in the bathroom, or… Are you sure she is gone?"

David nodded. He was on his way to tell Greenlee that she was being released from the hospital when he found her room empty. "Leo's jacket, it's gone too. We need to find her, Anna, before she does something to hurt herself."

"Okay, okay. We'll find her. A woman in a hospital gown and a jacket twice her size can't be too hard to find. I'll have somebody check by her penthouse."

Anna walked off to make the call. David rubbed his hands over his face. He had to find her. He remembered what it was like when his father killed himself – how he thought about taking his own life. If Greenlee was thinking like that… The thought made David shudder. He had to find her and protect her from herself. He had to help her for his brother. All Leo ever wanted was to make her happy. He would hate Greenlee being in this pain.

"Someone will be there in a minute," Anna told him. She saw that the worry on David's face wasn't going away. "Oh, David. It's great of you to care about Greenlee, but you need to take care of yourself too," she pleaded. "Has anyone checked you out yet?"

"I'm fine," he answered strongly. "It's just – I told you what it was like for me when my father died. I need to protect Greenlee from that. I can't let her go through what I went through. I can't let anything happen to her. She is all of Leo I have left."

Anna wasn't sure what to do. David was dead set on thinking the worst, and when David's mind was set on something there wasn't much that anyone could do about it. David began pacing back and forth in panicked thought as they waited for some news.

"Chief," a voice came out from Anna's walkie-talkie.

"It's the chief. Did you find her?"

"No. No one was at the loft. Is there somewhere else you want checked?"

Anna cursed under her breath. What made it worse was that David was listening to every word with his fears growing by the second. "Uh, alright then. Get a patrol car out and have someone check the boathouse. Also, try any place that serves alcohol."

"This can't be happening," David panicked. "If she gets hurt I'll never forgive myself. It's bad enough Leo is dead because of me, we can't lose Greenlee too!"

Anna grabbed his hands and gave him a stern look. "I told you, David. This is not your fault. You can't keep blaming yourself for Vanessa."

David lowered his head and breathed deeply. "You're right. It doesn't matter anymore. Leo's gone. But Greenlee is still here. I can help her."

"Well, I have men checking everywhere, David. She's probably at the boathouse anyway. If she wanted to feel close to Leo that's where she would be, right?"

"I guess so," he answered. "But, I mean, when my father died and Vanessa moved us out of that house, I just, you know, I needed so badly to feel close to him again. But nothing worked. Greenlee must be so desperate to feel close to Leo and I'm just scared she might do something stupid."

"I know, David. But it's going to be alright. We'll find her, I promise."

David still wasn't so sure. "I keep thinking how I used to miss my father. And how I used to ride my bike by that house all the time. That's where I lost him so… oh my God! That's it! I know where she is!" he cried, racing past Anna.

"You going to fill me in?" she screamed after him. Typical David. He was never one to tell her everything. If he had been, maybe their marriage wouldn't have gone up in flames.

----------

Greenlee was sitting on the edge of the falls. There was a rail on each side of her but not where she was sitting. This was the spot where he fell – where she saw him fall. This is where a rail used to be. It was the one that gave way as Leo was struggling with Vanessa for the gun. Now she was in that same spot, just 100 feet up from joining her soul mate again. She had been sitting there for hours with her feet dangling over the edge… thinking about it. This was the second time that Leo had driven her to a ledge. Granted, the first time it was because she dumped him, but still. All that time they had wasted. Greenlee wished they had used it better. If she had known what was to come, nothing would have stopped her from taking advantage of every second she could have been with him.

"Okay, Leo. Can you tell me what to do? Have you really left me or are you still out there somewhere? You know, when we said we would fight to the death for each other, I didn't think you would take it so literally."

She tried to laugh at herself, but tears came out instead.

"Damn it, Leo! I need you to come back to me! How do I do this without you? I mean, I was dead before you came into my life. You made my life worth living – made me happy to be alive for the first time. You were the only one who ever cared enough to find out who I was and somehow you loved me anyway."

She looked down again. She could barely even see her feet because Leo's jacket was so big on her. The thought of joining him was getting more temping by the minute. What was the point of it all without him?

"Greenlee!" she heard in the distance. "Greenlee! Are you here?"

"Leo," she hoped. She brushed off her tears as best she could to try and look presentable as she frantically looked around to find out where the shouting was coming from and saw David rushing up to her. "Oh, thank God," he sighed in relief as he saw her.

----------

Bubba smiled at a coughing Leo. It took pouring two buckets of water over his head to wake him up, but now he was conscious again. It was time to get the plan started.

"Bout time you got up. I was getting anxious over here. Millions of dollars has that effect, ya know."

"Where? Who are you?" Leo weakly got the words out. He tried to focus on the figure in front of him as his eyes, seeing double, were working to adjust.

"Just a man on a mission," Bubba told him. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you. Or better yet, where your mothers' money is."

The mention of Vanessa was like a jump start to Leo's brain. He remembered coming to save Greenlee and he and his mother going over the falls. "I don't know what you're talking about, buddy," Leo innocently told him, "I just want to get back to my wife. She sent me out to go shopping for milk and everything after that is a blank. Maybe a car ran me off the road or something."

"Don't play dumb with me, duPres! I know exactly who you are. I'm the one that got you out of those rapids. You should be thanking me for saving you instead of letting you end up a corpse like your mother!"

"Alright, I see you're smarter than you look then."

_Crack!_

"I don't appreciate wise guys, duPres. I want that money."

"Okay, fine. I was there. But I don't know anything about any money. My mother's stash was just a bunch of worthless stocks. Now if you'll let me go, I need to get my wife. You can appreciate that can't you?"

"Ah yes. The wife. Greenlee Smythe. Pretty little thing, aint' she? It would be a shame if something would happen to her."

"You touch her and…"

"You'll what, duPres? You couldn't take me even if I let you out of those cuffs. You want to make sure the misses doesn't get hurt, you tell me where the money is, understand?"

Leo couldn't take any chances. He knew how these things worked. Once he was no longer needed, that didn't mean this guy was going to let him go. But if he was threatening Greenlee, Leo couldn't do anything to risk her life.

"It was diamonds. A bunch of diamonds in a brown bag."

"That's better. And where are they now?"

"I threw them off the ledge of the falls. They landed on the footpath at the bottom."

That's all Bubba needed for now. "Good. You're a man who knows what's good for you. Just sit tight. I'll be back as soon as I find the diamonds."

"Like I have a choice," Leo muttered as he tested the strength of his handcuffs. They were strong alright, and the table they had him attached to was nailed into the floor. Escaping wouldn't be easy, but he had to get out of there. Somehow he had to get back to Greenlee and let her know that he was okay. She must be worried sick, or worse, probably thinking he is dead. There had to be a way out before he ended up like Vanessa. Hearing that Vanessa was dead was the lone bright spot to this day. One less problem for later. He looked around the room for something he could use. It looked like he was going to need to put some of his old con man skills to good use. His eyes lit up when under the table he saw a pin. Con 101 – you've got to know how to pick a lock. With some struggling, he managed to reach the pin and started working on the lock. He knew he had to work quickly too, before the big guy came back. His life probably depended on it.


	3. A Desperate Escape

"Come on. Almost got it," Leo encouraged himself. Picking the lock would have been much easier if he could see what he was doing, but he was close. It wouldn't be much longer before he would be out of those handcuffs. Maybe another minute.

"Knock, knock," Bubba snickered as he made his way back in. He looked awful proud of himself as he tossed the bag of diamonds up and down.

Leo made his attempts at breaking free look more subtle with Bubba back. "How did he get back so fast?" Leo wondered to himself. "Guess we're not too far from the falls. We must be at the edge of town, right by the woods."

Bubba continued playing with the bag of diamonds and pulled up a chair about five feet in front of Leo. Very pleased with his work, he slouched back in the chair and put his feet up on the table.

"Now here's the billion dollar question, duPres: What am I going to do with you?"

"How about letting me get out of here?" Leo half-heartedly asked. He needed a little more time to unlock his cuffs, so Bubba's lackadaisical attitude came as a relief. It looked like Bubba was in no hurry to get rid of him.

"That's a good one!" Bubba bellowed. "I'll take it under advisement, hmm, let's see. No!" He almost fell off the chair in laughter.

"You've got what you wanted, alright. You don't need me anymore so just take your money, skip town, and let me get back to my wife."

Bubba's smirk grew larger. "Oh yeah, that's right. Awww, poor whittle Gweenlee thinks her husband is dead, boo hoo. Ha! Somehow I just don't care."

Leo tried hard to keep his focus on picking the lock instead of how badly he wanted to mess up this guy's face. His willingness to stall may have been providing Leo with some valuable extra time, but no one messes with Greenlee. The second he got out of those cuffs…

"I have my orders, duPres. And I think you know what they are. The boss doesn't want you alive. This whole money situation would be a lot cleaner if you stayed dead, ya know? No loose ends. We don't want anyone getting suspicious…"

"Just keep talking," Leo thought.

"…But I've been thinking. Maybe I don't want you dead after all. Maybe I'm really just a big ole sap who wants to see true love triumph. Just like in one of those Disney movies. Know what I mean, duPres?" Bubba chuckled again.

Leo was wondering what was up with him. Henchmen tend do their job quick and easy, but this guy was either a sadistic nutcase or he really didn't want him dead. But it didn't matter anymore. Leo carefully let the pin down to the ground, being careful to not let it make a sound. He didn't need it anymore. His hands were free behind his back and he was holding the cuffs tightly. They would make for some darn good brass knuckles.

"No ideas, duPres?" Bubba said in wonder. "Come on, I know your wife must be missing you right now. You know what? Maybe I should just kill you now and then I can help give her some good old fashion comfort…"

Leo quickly sprung up on Bubba, landing a perfect shot with the cuffs to his face. Bubba fell to his knees and Leo hit him once again, knocking him old cold. He grabbed the diamonds and burst out the door as fast as a man still in total agony could go. His back was screaming at him with every step as he ran towards the woods. Thankfully, they weren't too far ahead. Leo knew he needed to be out of sight before the big guy could follow him. He wasn't going to happy that the diamonds were gone, but Leo needed them. It was going to take some leverage to keep Greenlee safe.

----------

"It's just so – so final," Greenlee sighed through her tear-drenched face.

David had successfully talked her off the ledge, but she had really gotten to him. He had been spending so much time worrying about Greenlee that he hadn't really let losing Leo sink in. But listening to her screams about what he meant to her, how she could never find anything like what she had with Leo ever again, and her curiosity if Leo was watching her and waiting for her in heaven… even David couldn't help but shed a tear.

"I want Leo to know how much he is missed. And how much he was loved. So maybe a memorial service is our chance to show him."

Greenlee nodded back at him. It was a good idea, but something felt off about it.

"Besides," David continued. "You know Leo would be at our funerals. He'd probably be the only one. He deserves the same out of us. So what do you think, sis?"

"Sis?" she questioned. "You almost sound like you like me?"

"Of course, Greenlee. You're my family. And I'm going to stick by you whether you want me to or not."

Greenlee smiled at him. It may have been a little forced and he knew that she was still feeling empty inside, but that was the first smile he saw out of her since Leo went over the falls. It was a start.

She breathed deeply and looked up at the sky. David was right. It would do Leo proud. "When?" she asked.

"Tomorrow? And don't you worry about anything, Greenlee. I'll take care of the whole thing. So what do you say we get out of here? Leo wouldn't want you catching a cold, right?"

He stood up and extended his hand her. She looked up at her brother-in-law – her family. "David? Could I, maybe, stay with you tonight? I can't… I'm just not ready to face home yet."

He warmly smiled down at her. "You got it, sis."

----------

Deep in the woods, Leo wasn't sure how much farther he could go. These woods were filled with cabins, but they were usually so far apart and in such random places that finding one without knowing exactly where it was could be a tough job. But he had to find someone. Out in the woods all alone wasn't the best cover. His back was letting him down. He couldn't remember the last time he had some water. Actually, he could. It was after he and Greenlee celebrated moving up their flight to Paris by making love in that loft one final time. But how long ago was that? A couple days, maybe? Leo felt like he was running on empty, desperately searching for anyone. He tripped over a bush in total exhaustion. This was it. He was done for. His eyes were closing on him.

The sound of a car door closing gave Leo a second wind. He turned his head to where the noise came from and saw an old lady walking into her cottage with a bag of groceries. He forced himself to his feet and used all that was left of his energy to walk those fifty feet to the door. He was just able to hit the doorbell before collapsing to his knees. The old lady opened the door and saw him. She had a certain radiance about her. The kind of face that you just knew was one of a kind soul.

"Oh my Lord!" she cried upon seeing him. "Don't you worry, young man. I'm going to call you an ambulance right now."

"No, wait," Leo barely mustered out the words. "No hospitals. No police." He tried desperately to collect his breath and looked up into her soft blue eyes. "I need your help."


	4. An Angry Call

"What do you mean, gone!" came the voice bellowing through Bubba's phone. "How could you let him escape? I give you one simple job and you go and screw it up! I thought I hired a professional and I got worthless piece of…"

"Alright, boss. I got it." Bubba interrupted. "I messed up. But uh, it's not just that Leo is gone. He took the diamonds too."

Bubba heard the man on the other end breath deeply. The boss was clearly pissed. With Leo dead, no one would ever know about the missing money. Everything had been set up so perfectly and now it had all gone to waste.

After a few minutes of silence, the voice on the other end spoke up again. "Leo duPres is no idiot. He knows showing up alive would expose us and put his family at risk. As long as he is in hiding, we can't make a move."

"I don't get it, boss. Let's just go after his wife. That'll get him out in the open."

"Bubba, Bubba, Bubba. Think with your head, not your botox injections. I know duPres and he won't put Greenlee in danger. That's why he took the diamonds. He has something we need and that we can't expose ourselves to get back. We touch her and we have no chance at getting those diamonds. No, we need to wait for duPres to make a move."

"But we don't know where he is, boss. He could be back with his wife by now anyway."

"Have you been listening to a word I've said, Bubba!" yelled the man in frustration. "He won't put her in danger. If everyone knows he is alive, we are exposed and nothing is stopping us from going after his family. Got it!"

"Sure, boss," Bubba tried to appease him, all the while his own ideas running through his head.

"Now listen carefully, Bubba. Leo won't go to Greenlee so he can protect her. But he's going to slip. We can count on him to contact her, trust me."

"You sure about that, boss?"

"I told you. I know duPres. He's a sucker for that girl. I'm going to keep an eye on her. Leo will turn up, and then we kill him and take back those diamonds without a soul knowing about either. Stay where you are, Bubba. I'll call you with new orders soon."

That was the boss' great plan? Bubba wondered. Lay low and watch Greenlee? Not enough action involved there, and Bubba was all about action. He walked into the kitchen of his cabin and grabbed a stake knife. Holding it up to his eyes, he thought about how he was going to get Leo and the diamonds out in the open. The boss was right, duPres was a sucker for that girl. Get to her and he won't be far behind. Bubba kissed the knife with a smile. "Beautiful Mrs. duPres," he snickered, licking his lips and he looked at his reflection in the knife. "I'll be seeing you very soon."


	5. Trying to Say Goodbye

Author's note: The idea of the story was to rewrite the events of Leo's death as it could have happened, so the story has thusly followed the basic story of what happened then (with the obvious exception of Leo, but he hasn't been connected to anyone else yet to affect events). This chapter has the memorial service which I will not rewrite as that still goes to the story from then. But starting from now is where there will be a couple of diversions from the on screen story and from the next chapter and on there will be a complete disconnect from it.

Enjoy chapter 5! And thank you again to everyone who reviewed so far. I really appreciate it.

* * *

David proudly took a look around the room. There were flowers set up everywhere, a picture of Leo graced the front of the chapel, and the aisles were filled by the many mourners talking amongst themselves about how his younger brother had touched their lives. Leo had truly been well loved. Greenlee was sitting in the front pew staring into space. He had talked to her a couple minutes ago, when it was just the two of them in the chapel. She wasn't sure if she was ready for it, but she reiterated that the memorial service was the right thing to do. Anna was standing in the back with Aidan. He thought about approaching her but decided against it. Everyone had come for Leo and he didn't want to take the chance of saying the wrong thing to his ex-wife and end up starting an argument. But as he turned his head towards the door he realized one might get started anyway. Kendall was standing there, obviously feeling a little out of place. He hoped she wasn't there to cause any trouble.

Palmer noticed Kendall and motioned for her to sit with him. She walked over to him, thankful someone wanted her there.

"What are you doing here?" Opal harshly whispered at Kendall. "I'm sure Greenlee doesn't want to see you today of all days."

"Well, I, I," she stammered. "I just thought… that maybe… since Trey wasn't here…"

"Trey's not coming?" Palmer asked her with a look of genuine interest in what she had to say. He knew he had to try and keep things calm before the service started.

"He didn't feel like he belonged," she answered. "And he didn't want anyone to see him so shaken up. And, well, Ryan cared about Leo so much, so I'm kind of here for him too. They were so close and I thought that since Ryan couldn't be here, I should maybe be here for him."

"Uh, Kendall," Palmer stopped her, motioning with his head for her to turn around. "That is very thoughful of you, but you may have spoken to soon."

Kendall turned around to see him as he walked into the chapel. Seeing Ryan again had Kendall frozen solid in shock. Ryan looked around the room and saw Kendall staring at him. Their eyes locked for a second before Ryan quickly turned in the opposite direction and grabbed a seat. Kendall thought about approaching him, but music started playing and David was standing up in the front of the chapel. The service was starting.

----------

"What you said up there…" Anna began to tell her former husband as she searched for the right words. "It was… it was very sweet. Leo would have been very proud of you."

"I hope so," David answered. "That's why we did this, you know? We… Greenlee and I… we wanted to show Leo how much he was loved and how much he'll be missed."

"You certainly did that," she reassured him. "Well, I guess I better get going now. I think I'm feeling a little bit of morning sickness from the baby."

He nodded at her in acceptance. He wished there was something he could do to make her take him back, or at least just stand next to him for a little while longer. Heart disease he could deal with. Morning sickness on the other hand was well out of his area of expertise. He couldn't help but feel like she was making it up as an excuse to leave, but what could he do? The morning sickness excuse was airtight.

"Give Greenlee my best," Anna requested as she motioned to Aidan that she was ready to go.

"Sure," he called after her. Wondering why she couldn't tell Greenlee herself, he scanned the room for his sister-in-law but to no avail. He assumed that she must have run out as soon as the service was over. "I'm sorry, Greenlee," he muttered. Maybe this was too much for her to handle after all.

At the back of the chapel, Kendall finally brought up the courage to talk to Ryan. She hadn't seen him since he left her and now here he was right before her eyes. She tapped him on the shoulder, interrupting his conversation with Bianca.

"How are you, Ryan?" she asked him, a hint of nervousness in her voice. He turned his head around to get her in eyesight, the look in his eyes less than pleasant

"Fine," he stated matter-of-factly.

He turned back around to continue his conversation with Bianca, but his dismissive attitude towards Kendall gave her the resolve she needed.

"Uh uh, no way, Ryan," she scolded him. "You don't get to come back here and treat me like some little bug you stepped on and left in the dust."

"The bug I stepped on?" he repeated in astonishment, throwing his arms up wildly in the air. "Unbelievable! Kendall, who stepped on whose feelings here, huh? Me or you?"

"I did no such thing!" she shot back. "You know, just because you left me doesn't mean I don't feel the same way I felt about you a couple months ago! Way to stomp on my heart all over again!"

"Okay guys," Bianca interrupted them. "This was a memorial service, remember? Leo's memorial. I think you're little issues need to be taken somewhere else."

"Yeah, that's right," Ryan turned back to Kendall. He took a deep breath but still had trouble holding in his anger. Something about Kendall always forced his feelings to come to the surface. "I'm here. I came back. But I didn't come back for you, I came back for Leo. He was my best friend and I needed to be here for this. And I'm not going to disrespect this chapel and Leo's memory by arguing here with you."

In a huff, Ryan stormed out of the chapel.

"Way to go, Kendall," Bianca sarcastically congratulated her. "I'm sure Leo felt honored by your presence."

----------

Greenlee solemnly walked around the boathouse. She had barely gotten through the service in one piece and ran out as soon as it was over. It gave her some comfort seeing all the people that showed up to honor her beloved husband, but it hadn't helped her to let go. Even after filling up the boat with flowers and sending it off in Leo's memory just a couple minutes prior hadn't helped. She thought that maybe if she gave a more personal goodbye that maybe she could find some peace. But it didn't help. "Goodbye my love," she had said. But what did that do? They were just words – empty words. Going through the motions wasn't changing the fact that she still needed him, and that she had a hole in her heart that she felt was big enough to walk through.

"Damn, Leo!" she cried out in agony. "How do I live without you?"

"I'll help you," a familiar voice offered. "If you let me."

Trey was standing on the other side in the boathouse. She wasn't fond of Leo's newest half-brother. After all, it was his fault that Vanessa was getting the crazy treatment instead of being locked away in a more suitable place for a drug trafficking murderess – a place with some real security maybe. And that whole stealing his best friends' identity thing never sat well with her. That was a bit extreme even for a con man. But that wasn't why she was upset with seeing him now.

"You want to help me?" she questioned her brother-in-law. "You know, Trey. You claim to care so much about Leo and about being brothers and when we try to honor his memory and show him some respect you don't even show up!"

Trey understood what she was getting at. "The memorial service," he uncomfortably acknowledged. "I just… I didn't belong."

"He's your brother," she countered, trying to cause as much pain and guilt as she could. Attacking Trey was at the very least a good distraction from feeling her own pain.

"Well not everyone was so comfortable with that. Even you, Greenlee. I know how you felt about us being brothers."

"I tried warning him off of you," she said angrily, focusing all of her pent up grief at Trey. "I told him over and over to give up on this crazy family. But no, Leo wouldn't do that. Then he finally chooses us and our future over his wacko family only for Vanessa to…" Greenlee sighed deeply as a tear dropped down her cheek. Her rant got her back to the same place that her thoughts always ended up at these days: how she lost Leo. It wasn't Trey she was really mad at, she realized.

"Was it me?" Greenlee sadly looked up at Trey. "Was I not a good enough wife? Did he not love me enough to choose me?" Tears began to steadily fall down her face now.

"Greenlee, come on," Trey reassured her. "Everyone that knew Leo knew how much he loved you. You were the only thing in this world that he couldn't live without."

Greenlee sat down on the bench thinking over what he said.

Trey sat down next to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Will you let me help you?" he asked her again.

"Sorry to interrupt," Jackson Montgomery said as he entered the boathouse. The tall, dark, and handsome district attorney had given Greenlee and Leo a lot of trouble during his Proteus investigation. Just another reason why Vanessa was able to catch Greenlee before she and Leo could leave for Paris.

"I followed you after the service, Greenlee," Jack explained. "I was hoping I could have a word with you... about what happened at the falls."

"I'll just leave you two alone then," Trey volunteered.

"Thank you, Trey," Jack told him as Trey walked past him and out of the boathouse. "So Greenlee, I know it's probably not your favorite subject but I really do need to talk to you about what happened at the falls."

"Why?" she wondered sarcastically. "Vanessa is dead – no more criminal no more case. Besides, what's left for you to do in this Proteus case when you don't have Leo around to arrest every five minutes?"

"Okay, I deserve that," Jack acknowledged. "But to close this case I need to know all the details of what happened that night. Why did she take you to the falls? What was she trying to gain? I need to know what she was hiding in that head of hers and only you know the answers." He looked into Greenlee's big brown eyes and could tell that she wasn't completely there with him. "But if you're not ready to talk about it I understand."

Greenlee hung her head down and thought about it for a couple seconds. "I don't think I am," she answered. "I think I need to face Leo first… before I can accept what happened."

"I am really sorry for your loss, Greenlee," Jack sympathized. "You deserved better. And Leo deserved better from me." Jack handed her his card with all his numbers on it. "Please call me when you're ready to talk," he appealed. "I'm sure you want this whole thing closed just as badly as I do."

Greenlee nodded to the older man. Talking about it could be a good thing for her, but she couldn't do that until she could truly accept the reality that Leo was gone and she hadn't been able to do that yet. She had to face the one place where his loss would be inescapable: her penthouse. She stood up and began to slowly walk out of the boathouse, nervously thinking about seeing that loft – filled with memories but empty of the man that she made them with.

"Call me anytime," Jack called after her. "I'll be close by."


	6. An Unexpected Visit

Greenlee took a deep breath as she held the door knob to her penthouse. It must have been a couple minutes she had been standing there, endlessly shifting her brain from thoughts of facing that empty loft and running in the other direction as fast as she possibly could. Slowly, she finally turned the handle and slightly pushed on the door.

Everything looked the same way she left it. The coffee table was smashed to bits from her encounter with Vanessa; one of the couch's pillows displayed an unnerving bullet hole. Greenlee finally took her first step inside – memories flooding her thoughts. She turned around to rush out but strongly scolded herself: "Come on, Greenlee!" she reprimanded. "You are a strong woman. You've faced enough empty rooms in your life – don't go running from another one!" She turned back around ready to face her new reality. "Be strong for Leo," she encouraged herself.

She walked over to the mantel and stared at a picture of Leo. Taking hold of it, she began to caress the picture of his face. What a beautiful face – the face of the man she loved and who loved her – a face she would never get to caress again. The thought brought on some tears as she slowly walked over to the couch and sat down. Unable to find a comfortable spot with all of the cushions shifted due to her fight with Vanessa, she stood up halfway to fix the middle cushion and noticed a small white paper sticking out of the back. Reaching out for it, she loosened it from its wedge in the couch and nervously unfolded it.

"_Still waiting on that French lingerie. Let's fix that! Love ya, baby_."

Leo was always leaving stuff like that around the loft. Greenlee knew what he meant too. She got some French Lingerie during her trip to Paris when the two of them were looking for Vanessa's drug money. She would have modeled it then if not for the Count duPres interrupting them. Thoughts of Paris began running through her brain. She remembered surprising him there in the bathtub and how he got her their special necklace. She placed her hand where the necklace lay on her chest, tenderly rubbing on its three diamonds. They were supposed to symbolize their yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows together. She wiped away more tears as it became more and more clear that all she had left were yesterdays.

_knock knock_

"Go away!" Greenlee yelled, holding Leo's picture close to her chest. She didn't want anyone seeing her so torn up.

_knock knock_

Greenlee thought of yelling again, but couldn't find the resolve. She was too worn out to argue. Besides, it was probably just David worried about her leaving the memorial service so suddenly. "Alright, I'm coming," she gave in, drying her face with her hands as best she could. She placed the picture of Leo back on the mantel and tucked the note away behind it. With a sniff she walked towards the door. "I'm going to let you in David," she said as she began to open the door, "but you better have a serious…"

She stopped as she noticed that it wasn't David that had come. "Ryan?" she acknowledged with surprise. He was nowhere near the top of her list of people she expected to see. She had noticed he was at the memorial service but didn't care to talk to him. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had talked to him. He may have been friends with Leo, but she had nothing to do with him and that had been just fine with her.

"What do you want?" she asked harshly.

"Can I come in?" he requested.

"What do you want?" she repeated, this time her tone filled more with annoyance than harshness.

"I just wanted to check on you, Greenlee," Ryan stated. "Really. I come in peace," he said, picking up his hands as if to show he was unarmed.

She stared at him quizzically for a moment before taking a step away from the door and motioning that it was okay for him to enter.

Ryan walked past her into the loft.

"You can thank my mother-in-law for the mess," Greenlee told him, noticing he was staring at the broken glass from the coffee table. "So again, what do you want?"

Ryan sat down in the chair and waited for her to take a seat across from him on the couch. "I know we've had our issues, Greenlee," he began. "But we both loved Leo so I felt like I had to come. I thought maybe I could help since after what happened with Gillian… I just understand what you're going through, that's all."

"Oh, you think you understand? At least you had a body to bury!" she shot back. "Something to say goodbye to! All I have is…" She stopped herself realizing once again that she was trying to ignore her own pain by focusing it on attacking someone else. "I'm sorry," she collected herself. "You didn't deserve that. I'm just on emotional overload right now."

"So we're officially on truce mode, then?" he pointed out. "Good. That's good because there were some things I had to get off my chest now that Leo's gone. That okay?"

Greenlee nodded at him. They weren't exactly friends, but he was right that now they did have something in common. Maybe he could help her.

"Okay. Well, you know that I wasn't exactly your biggest advocate with Leo. I admit that I never understood it – what he saw in you, I mean. I only saw you for who you used to be so I would always warn him off you and try and convince him to leave you or stay away from you, or that not being with you was the greatest thing that could happen to him. But I also need to tell this to you because I never did say it to him, maybe because I couldn't admit it myself: but it was seeing how Leo loved you while he was married to Laura that helped me move on after Gillian. I know he could never admit how he felt then, but I could see it. It was as clear as day how he felt about you and the fact that he couldn't have you left him a miserable wreck."

"I know he loved me, Ryan," Greenlee interrupted him. "So what are you getting at?"

"It's just that I saw the difference in him from when he lost you to when he was married to Laura. It was like the life was sucked out of him, you know? It was the same way I was going through life without Gillian. I couldn't let myself feel for the longest time, and looking at Leo was like looking at myself in a mirror. It just made me realize that none of all this is worth it without someone you love. And when he got you back, it was like the lights got turned back on or something. I mean, what I'm trying to say is… you two had that special kind of love that makes everyone around you want it too."

Ryan's comments had Greenlee floored. She couldn't believe he had been there for a whole couple minutes without a single snide comment and not only that, but was actually praising what she had with his best friend! The same one he wanted to stay far away from her!

"Wow. Um, thank you, Ryan," she acknowledged, brushing away another tear forming in her eye. I know Leo would appreciate that."

"Well telling you is the next best thing," he replied, leaning forward in the chair and placing his hand on her knee. "I'll be around so if you want anything, Greenlee, I can try to help you… for Leo."

Unsure of anything she could say to him at the moment, Greenlee simply nodded. The fact that Ryan would even come, friend of Leo or not, was still having a tough time registering with her. It was strange enough being in that loft without Leo, but now Ryan being nice to her meant the world must really be coming to an end.

"Okay, I better go," Ryan said, standing up as he noticed her silence. Greenlee simply sat still, giving no reaction. "You obviously want some privacy. I'll let myself out," he volunteered, hoping to elicit some movement on Greenlee's part, but none came.

Ryan walked out of the penthouse and closed the door behind him. As he pushed the elevator button a scary thought came to him: he was missing something. That warm fuzzy feeling he had while he was in Greenlee's loft was gone. "No way! It… it can't be!" he told himself. It wasn't possible. It must be he was only transferring his feelings for Kendall to another source, because he couldn't have feelings for Greenlee… could he?

In her penthouse, Greenlee continued to stare into space, thinking about what Ryan said – that loving someone else is what makes life worth it. She felt a little comforted by his kind words about Leo's love for her, but if he was right about the rest of it… that wasn't something she was ready to hear. Was she supposed to go through life looking for the best scraps she could find while trying to convince herself that it was the real thing? She had experienced the real thing. What she had with Leo was one of a kind. What was supposed to measure up? Memories began flooding back to her. She remembered that it was while sitting in the same spot that she was sitting in right now that she first asked Leo to marry her. She turned her head left toward the fireplace – it was while sitting right next to the fireplace that Leo gave her an ornament last Christmas, and promised to give her a new one every year. Greenlee walked back over to the mantel and took out Leo's note from behind the picture, rereading it over and over until tears started falling again. That was enough – she had to get out of there. She took out Jack's card and dialed the number. "Jackson, it's Greenlee. Can we meet now?"

----------

"… so I knocked him out and ran through the woods until I got to your door," Leo concluded as he sipped his coffee.

Leo couldn't have asked for a better hostess. He had passed out mere seconds after entering the house, but the old lady, Mrs. Foster, was able to revive him long enough to get him a drink of water. She then rushed him off to her guest bedroom and ordered him to rest. Leo was grateful she listened to him by not calling an ambulance. He had really lucked out with Claire, as she had asked him to call her. Apparently, she wasn't into the formal stuff any more than he was.

"That's some story, Leo," she acknowledged with a smile – always with a smile. The aura she gave out was one of such warmth and kindness, Leo felt like one look from her could turn even the most sadistic criminals into harmless pussycats.

"What? Do you think I'm crazy?" he questioned with a grin. "No way could something like this happen, right?"

"No, no, Leo. That's not it. I believe you. But it's not everyday that a man shows up near death on my doorstep."

Leo let loose a sigh of relief before buckling over in pain, grabbing his chest.

"Oh dear, Leo," Claire stood up in concern. "Looks like you need to get back to bed. One good nights sleep can't heal all of you injuries."

"I'm alright, I'm alright," Leo barely squeaked out, not reassuring Claire in the slightest. Regaining himself, he was able to sit back up straight in his chair again, giving his hostess a little relief. "Don't worry about me, Claire," he told her after catching his breath. "It's just some sore ribs. You're taking great care of me and I'm so incredibly thankful. But I can't stop thinking about Greenlee. I mean, she must think I'm dead. But I can't go to her because I know they will be waiting for me. That's why I couldn't have you call anyone. As long as the world thinks I'm gone, Greenlee is safe."

Mrs. Foster breathed deeply, sympathetically looking at Leo. "I understand. But are you sure this is the right thing to do for Greenlee? You obviously care about her very much, and she must feel the same about you. What must she be going through thinking that you are gone?"

Leo stared into space as he wondered what Greenlee was doing at that moment. She must be in so much pain right now. There had to be something he could do.

"Leo?" Claire brought him back to reality. "You know I'm right, don't you?"

Leo smiled and nodded. "Of course you are. All I've been thinking about is how I can see her and talk to her again, or just hug her and tell her everything is going to be okay. But they'll be watching her, probably even have our phone tapped. And I can't put her in danger… not again."

Leo looked at the older woman hoping for some sage advice. He could see the wheels turning in her head, but no words were coming out.

"It's just... none of this makes any sense," Leo began again. "Did that guy never clean his floors to not realize there was a pin I could use to get loose not a couple feet away? Did I just luck out? I should have died twice in the last week, and yet here I am!"

"I'd say it looks like you have friends in high places," she smiled. She took Leo's coffee mug and brought it over to the sink to clean it. "But Leo, you should know that I speak from experience. I was with my husband when he died."

"I'm so sorry," Leo offered. "When?"

"Oh, about five years ago," Claire answered. "Lung cancer. The way my husband smoked it's amazing it didn't happen sooner. But I feel so blessed that we got all the time we did and that I was able to tell him goodbye and that I loved him before he left the world. Greenlee didn't get that chance. Don't underestimate how much she is hurting right now without you."

"Believe me, Claire, all the physical pain I've got right now is nothing compared to that. The last thing I want in this world is to put my wife through any pain. But I don't know what to do. I need to get to her, but how can I do that and keep her safe?"

"By not exposing yourself," Claire explained. "No one would think to find you here."

"You sound like you've got an idea," Leo exclaimed with hope.

Claire chuckled through her huge smile. "I love reunions!"


	7. Making Contact

"I'm really glad you called," Jack told her, leaning both of his arms over the rail of the boathouse. "Though I must say I'm surprised it was so soon."

Greenlee looked up to the tall man from her position on the bench. "Yeah well," she explained, brushing her shoulder length hair behind her ear. "Slow isn't part of my vocabulary. I did it, Jackson. Scariest thing I've ever done, but I did it. I faced a home without Leo, and it was just..." her voice trailed off as she lowered her eyes.

"It hurt," Jack pointed out with sympathy. Greenlee nodded her head, but her eyes remained focused on the floor.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Jack asked her, taking a seat on the stairs by the entrance to the boathouse.

"As much as I'll ever be," Greenlee answered him with all the strength she could muster up.

Jack stared in astonishment at the woman sitting in front of him. Anytime he had past dealings with Greenlee she always came off as someone who never let anyone get to her. Even at Roger's funeral she still had the inner strength to take on Mary for her crap. She was unpredictable – a walking time bomb. But the woman sitting in front of him now looked worn down – almost defeated. "I'm sorry, Greenlee," Jack sighed, a hint of guilt in his voice.

"No, you're just doing your job," Greenlee told him, her eyes focused back on the DA now and off the floor. "It's for the case, right?"

Jackson's gaze turned away from Greenlee and toward the lake. There was no way Greenlee could have known it, but her look was like someone was sticking hundreds of needles into his stomach. If only she knew the truth… After a couple seconds, Jackson regained himself. "I need to know everything," Jack began, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible. "What happened at the falls? What was Vanessa doing? What was her plan?"

The images rushed to Greenlee, clear as though they were happening all over again; but she wasn't going to run away. She knew she had to face what happened sooner or later, and there wasn't going to be a better time or place to do it. "Vanessa… she took me there and…" her voice trailing off again.

Jackson looked at her with concern as he watched her sigh. He couldn't avoid her eyes anymore, noticing some tears forming there.

"It's okay… I… I'm okay," Greenlee reassured him, noticing his concern. "Vanessa called Leo. She said if he didn't come alone that she would kill me…"

"And of course he came running," Jack helped her continue.

Greenlee gave him a half smile. That was Leo alright; always coming to her rescue. "When he found us, Vanessa told him she had money buried under the falls and once he found it she would let me go."

"The money! That's it," Jackson said excitedly. "I knew her fortune couldn't have been those piece of junk stocks! Greenlee, what happened to the money?"

"It was these diamonds in a small bag. She said they were worth millions."

"So she wanted to use the diamonds to lure Leo to run away with her," Jack realized.

"Yeah," Greenlee confirmed. "But Leo never cared about the money. He was dropping them one by one over the falls until Vanessa me go. Then Vanessa was going to shoot him and… and I tried to stop her."

"But Greenlee," Jackson interrupted her. He was now standing right in front of her, bending over to not tower over her, and hanging on her every word. "The diamonds. What happened to the diamonds?"

"I don't know," she answered him. "Vanessa knocked me over the ledge."

"Your hospital visit," Jackson acknowledged. "I heard about your fall."

"I was unconscious," Greenlee continued. "When I woke up, Vanessa began shooting at me. But Leo…" she tried to explain through her cracking voice. "Leo… he… he tried to… to stop her…" She paused as tears started to come out.

"And he saved your life," Jackson finished the sentence for her. She nodded through her wet face.

"So you never saw what happened to the diamonds?" Jackson asked her.

Greenlee shook her head as she tried to dry her face with her jacket.

"Okay," Jackson stood up straight. "It looks like this is enough for you. Thank you for calling, Greenlee. You've been a big help. Can I give you a ride somewhere?"

"No, that's okay," she responded. "I think I'm going to stay here a little while longer."

"Sure," the DA replied, turning around to leave. "But if you remember anything about the diamonds or anything else, I need you to give me a call."

Greenlee gave him a nod and watched him leave. She ran her right hand through her hair, pausing for a second when she reached the top of her head. Looking around the boathouse, she remembered all of the time she had spent there with Leo. But this was different than the loft. In the loft her memories were painful, maybe because Vanessa had violated that spot. But here the memories gave her warmth; here she felt safe.

She stood up and sighed. Walking around the boathouse with her hands in her pockets, desperate to hold on to the first bit of comfort she had felt since the falls, she remembered all the great moments she had experienced in this place.

"This a private party?" a large man with a very noticeable bruise on his left cheek asked her as he walked up the steps into the boathouse.

"I was just leaving," Greenlee told him, talking some steps towards the man to pass him. She didn't need to feel close to Leo with an audience. But the man took a step to the side, blocking her way.

"Excuse me," she told him with frustration; but the man didn't budge. Greenlee looked at him angrily. She had finally found a moment of peace; and not only had this guy taken that away from her, but he now had to nerve to stop her from leaving. "Are you deaf or something? Get the hell out of my way!" she ordered.

"I heard you were a firecracker," the large man told her. "That was one of the things Leo found so attractive about you, right? I don't know; I just think you're hot."

The mention of Leo made Greenlee shudder. "Who are you?" She asked uneasily. "How do you know my husband?"

The man pulled back his heavy coat and pulled out the knife that was hidden on his hip. A terrified Greenlee began to slowly back away. "What do you want?" she asked – her voice anything but steady.

"I need those diamonds back, sweetie," the man answered as he walked towards her with a grin. "And you're going to help me get them out in the open."

Greenlee tried running for the door on the other side of the boathouse, but the man easily caught her. Greenlee screamed as he held up the knife in his free hand.

_Bang!_

Greenlee was shocked to realize she was still alive, and even more shocked to see her attacker lying dead at her feet, the bullet wound visible on the back of his head. Trembling in shock, she looked around for her savior but saw no one.

In the woods, a man put his gun onto the passenger seat of his car and drove off. "Bubba, you idiot," he said to himself. "Can't find good help these days." If he had just followed orders, everything still could have gone off without a hitch, but now everyone would know that something was up. Killing Bubba had considerably shortened his time frame; he was going to have to find Leo quickly. But he did what he had to do. Besides, he couldn't let Greenlee get hurt.

----------

Greenlee stood in stunned silence as she watched the police carry the body away. Another brush with death narrowly avoided; how many times was she supposed to go through these things?

"Greenlee?" Jackson waved his hand in front of her eyes to get her attention. "Greenlee, you were telling me about what happened, remember? When this guy attacked you, did he say what he wanted? What he was after?"

"He said something about getting the diamonds back out in the open," Greenlee half-heartedly told him.

"Anything else?" Jack probed eagerly, but Greenlee continued to stare away. "Greenlee? I really need your help on this."

"Greenlee!" David shouted as he entered the boathouse, Trey only a couple steps behind his big brother. He ran over to Greenlee and embraced his sister-in-law. "I came as soon as I got your message. Are you alright? Did he hurt you at all?"

Greenlee shook her head as David ran his hands through her hair. "Thank God! I don't know what I would do if I lost you too," he told her, hugging her again.

"Greenlee," Jack interrupted the family moment. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"Leave her alone!" Trey scolded him, his hand on the DA's chest to keep him at bay. "Can't you see she's been through enough?"

"What do you think, Greenlee?" David asked her softly. "Take me home, David," she sniffed.

"Are you sure, Greenlee?" Jack questioned her. "We aren't done here yet and…"

"I said take me home now, damn it!" Greenlee cried at David. David put his arm around her and motioned to Trey to leave with them.

"Please reconsider, Greenlee," Jackson called after her. David turned his head around angrily at him: "Look at her! How unfreaking sensitive can you be, Jackson! Ignore him, Greenlee. We're going."

"Thanks guys," Greenlee told her brothers-in-law after they reached the footpath outside the boathouse. "It's just too much. Why does the universe always make the lunatics go after me?"

"It's alright, Greenlee," Trey tried comforting her. "You're safe now. It's all over."

"Sure it is," she sarcastically told him. "Until someone else comes looking for those damn diamonds." She looked up to the night sky. "Even in death your witch of a mother won't leave me alone."

David stopped short. Forcing her to look him in the eyes he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Just tell us what you want us to do," he tried to put her at ease.

She looked at him, and then over at Trey, and then back at David. "Well," she began. "Could you two stay with me tonight? I… I don't want to be alone."

Ten minutes later, the three of them exited the elevator outside her loft. A box was waiting next to the door with a piece of paper taped to the top of it. Greenlee picked up the paper and read the message out loud:

"_Something I found in my loft. I think it belonged to Leo – Simone_."

"Do you want us to bring that in for you?" Trey offered; but Greenlee had already picked it up and was walking into the loft. "Guess she has to keep Leo all to herself," Trey shrugged at his brother as they followed her inside.

"We'll stay out here," David told her. "The couch and the chair will do just fine for the night. We'll be right here if you need us."

Greenlee quickly thanked David and rushed to her room with the package, desperate to have another connection to her lost husband. She tore it open to find two blocks of wood. Why would Simone give her pieces of wood? she wondered, taking them out. This was an awful time for practical jokes. She examined the wood and found nothing out of the ordinary; just some useful firewood. Disappointed, she turned to put them back in the box and saw a note sitting at the bottom of it. Assuming Simone put the wood in to add some weight to the package, she hurriedly took out the note – it must be another one of Leo's; but why would Simone have it. Nothing here seemed to add up. Curiously, she unfolded to piece of paper in her hands and read its contents:

"_Cabin 32. Come alone_."

----------

With a beaming countenance, Mrs. Foster placed her keys down on the kitchen table. Leo had been pacing through the cabin the entire time she was gone, hoping everything would work out. Still very sore from his fall, the pacing probably was doing him more harm than good – even forcing him to buckle over in brief shots of pain more than once – but he couldn't just sit down and wait patiently while everything was on the line. "Don't worry, Leo," Claire told him, practically humming. "Everything went perfectly. No one knew I was there."

Leo jumped at the news. If Greenlee gets that package, he's got a chance. No one would be suspicious of a package from Simone with one of his things; and knowing Greenlee, she would be the only one to see the real message inside the box. Now he had to wait.

"Why don't you get some rest, Leo?" his hostess advised. "You may be having a very important day tomorrow."

Leo laughed in joy, so hard that another shot of pain ran through his chest. Claire noticed and advised him again, though this time more sternly: "Leo, go rest up."

He obliged and made his way toward his room, knowing that there was no way he was going to get any sleep anyway. Leo prayed Greenlee was alright. He hoped she would get the message and come; but her not knowing the gravity of the situation worried him. Maybe she wouldn't come alone? Maybe she wouldn't come at all? These thoughts kept Leo up most of the night. Maybe whoever was after him had already gotten to her? What if they would hurt her to find out where he was? He had to tell her everything. He had to let her know he was okay. He had to take away the pain of her thinking he was gone. And for all that she had to come and come alone – no one could be trusted.

----------

Greenlee rubbed on the three diamonds of her necklace: "Please be you, Leo," she whispered. "Somehow, let it please be you."

She had rushed David and Trey out that morning. Jackson had also called bright and early to check on her and see if she was doing alright. All three of them figured something weird was going on but she didn't care. All that mattered to her was that something in that cabin was connected to Leo, and she had to find out what. Unsure why exactly she did it, she took a quick look in the mirror to straighten her hair and make sure her outfit brought out her finer qualities. Pleased with the results, she grabbed her jacket and opened the door to leave and saw Ryan standing there – his fist in the air as if he was about to knock.

"Ryan!" she exclaimed with surprised, putting her hand up to her chest. "You scared me half to death!"

"I heard about what happened yesterday," Ryan anxiously told her, ignoring her surprise. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? God, I was so worried when I heard…"

Greenlee's confused look cut him off. "Huh? Since when do you care about me?" she asked.

"Well… you were Leo's wife," Ryan stammered, uncomfortably scratching the back of his head.

"Whatever," she brushed him off. "I don't have time for this. I have to be somewhere."

"Wait," Ryan stopped her. "You just got attacked. You were almost killed by some maniac. And now you're going out on the town in that little getup? Where are you going dressed like that?"

"That's none of your business."

"I'm coming with you," he firmly announced. "I insist."

"No, Ryan, I really should be going myself," Greenlee tried to get rid of him. "You wouldn't want to come anyway. You'll be bored, trust me."

"Greenlee, I'm coming," he persisted. "And if you don't let me come with you I'm going to follow you, end of story. You were almost killed yesterday, and from what I hear it was far from a random attack – I'm not letting you go anywhere alone."


	8. Cabin 32

"Greenlee, watch out!" Ryan screamed from his spot in the passenger's seat. Greenlee turned her head forward just in time to see the deer that had jumped out onto the road. She quickly slammed on the brakes, startling the deer and causing it to run out of the way into the woods. "Since when do you drive like a crazy woman?" Ryan asked, short of breath from the close call.

"You didn't have to come with me," she shot back. Her eyes turned away from the road again, eagerly looking around for something. "Come on, where are you?" she mumbled. "I saw 30. I saw 31. Where are you?"

Ryan rolled his eyes in frustration, not that Greenlee could see it anyway. "What's the mad rush, Greenlee? And why won't you tell me why we are in the middle of nowhere and where the hell we are going?"

"There it is!" Greenlee cried, ignoring Ryan's question. The cabin she had been looking for was pretty hidden from the road, but she had finally found it. She pulled off and drove between a row of trees to reach her destination. Noticing a car sitting on the side of the cabin, she eased her car up next to it and put it in park. Leaning her face forward towards the wheel and holding it tightly she took a deep breath: "Here goes nothing."

"Okay, so we're here," Ryan told her, looking around. "Why are we here?" Greenlee opened the door and walked out of the car, ignoring Ryan's question again; but this time Ryan was going to get his answer one way or another. He rushed out of the car and grabbed Greenlee's arm from behind, stopping her a couple feet before the door.

"Greenlee, listen to me," he pleaded. "Someone tried to kill you and now you were just out driving in the middle of the woods to some secluded cabin! You've got to tell me what we are doing here!"

Noticing he was serious, Greenlee tried to come up with some explanation to get her those last couple steps to the door, but nothing came to mind. "I don't know," she sheepishly admitted.

Ryan's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets. "We're going," he authoritatively told her, pulling on her arm.

"Oh my God, Ryan!" Greenlee yelled. "That deer is chewing on my tires!"

Ryan turned to the car, loosening his grip on Greenlee, but saw nothing there. Greenlee took back her arm and ran towards the door of the cabin. Ryan turned back towards Greenlee, but it was too late, she was already knocking. Defeated, Ryan walked up behind her as she waited for an answer.

And older woman soon came to the door. She greeted the petite woman in front of her with a huge smile, but the smile faded somewhat when she noticed the large man walking up behind her. Maybe this wasn't the woman she was expecting.

"May I help you?" the older woman asked.

"I… well… um… I," Greenlee tried to find the words but became uncharacteristically nervous. "I got this note… and um… my name is Greenlee duPres…"

"Aha, so you're Greenlee," the older woman greeted her, extending her hand. "I'm Claire Foster. I've been expecting you." She looked up at the large man who had been wearing a confused expression ever since she opened the door. "And you would be?"

"Oh, I'm Ryan, Ryan Lavery."

"Friend of yours?" Claire asked Greenlee.

"Not exactly," Greenlee answered. "But you said you've been expecting me? You sent me that note?"

"I did," Claire told her, opening the door wider and allowing Greenlee and Ryan to come in. Her smile was ear to ear again. "Please let me take your coats?" she offered. Her guests obliged.

"The package," Greenlee tensely began. "It had something to do with Leo, I know it. What do you know about my husband?"

Claire happily chuckled. "Right this way, my dear," she walked away, motioning for her two visitors to follow her. "I promise you won't be disappointed." She led them to a room towards the back of the cabin. "He's lying down," she told them as she reached a door and knocked softly. "It's been an exciting bunch of days."

"He?" Greenlee asked hopefully as Claire slowly opened the door.

Greenlee's hands rushed over her mouth as she saw him. "Oh my God!" she cried, tears of joy filling her eyes. Leo looked up from his spot on the bed, his eyes lighting up at seeing his wife again. "Miss me, baby?" he happily smiled at her; the joy erasing all of his pain in that moment. "Now why don't you come over here and let me hold you?" Greenlee crawled onto the bed, lying down under her husband's extended arm, and held him tightly. Leo kissed the top of her head and then ran his hands through her hair. "Everything is going to be okay, Greenlee, I promise you. It's all going to be okay again."

Leo looked up and saw Claire and Ryan standing by the door.

"Ryan," Leo acknowledged, taken aback by the sight of his friend. "What brings you here?"

"Your funeral," Ryan answered with a smirk on his face. "But it looks like that was a waste of time."

"Guess so," Leo replied. He looked back down at his wife: "About all that, Greens. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It must have been hell."

"No, forget it," Greenlee quickly responded, her head still buried in her husband's chest. "None of it matters. Only that you're here with me again."

"Okay," Claire clapped her hands. "I think you two deserve some privacy. Mr. uh, Lavery was it? Let's give them some time alone."

"Yeah we should do that," Ryan admitted and followed her out, shutting the door behind him.

"Can I get you something?" Claire asked Ryan when they reached the kitchen. "Something to drink, maybe?"

Ryan shook his head. "I'm okay, thank you; a little puzzled, but okay."

"Well Greenlee was supposed to come alone," Claire pointed out. "She must trust you."

"No, it's not that," he responded. "She was attacked… well, it's a long story. I forced her to bring me with her; I just thought she shouldn't be alone." Ryan sat down by the table, taking in his surroundings. "Besides," he continued. "Maybe I needed to know that Leo was alive as badly as she did."

Leo eyed his wife in awe, thankful to have her back in his arms. They had been separated so many times before, but they always found their way back to each other. That was the one thing in life he had learned he could always count on. But this time it almost didn't happen. Scheming parents, extraneous wives, police investigations, restraining orders, the mob: those were no problem. Death, on the other hand, would have been unbeatable. He was going to appreciate this – short as he knew it would be.

"Damn, Greens," Leo ran his finger down Greenlee's cheek and then across her lips. "I forgot how beautiful you are."

"I thought I had lost you forever, Leo," she told him, holding his hand as it rested on her cheek. "But deep in my soul I knew I hadn't. Somehow I knew you were still out there," her voice broke down.

"Hey hey hey, Greens, come on," Leo tried to consol her.

Greenlee shook her head. "No, I should have kept looking. I should have done more. I let you down, Leo."

Leo calmingly smiled back at her. "You could never let me down, baby. Never." He rubbed his hand up and down her arm and stared into her eyes. Her eyes locked onto his and like so many times before, they slowly leaned towards each other. When their lips met, Greenlee felt her heart jump; it felt full again.

"You felt it too?" Leo asked rhetorically, noticing her smile. "Like everything is right with the universe again. Like everything is the way it should be." Greenlee stared at him lovingly, agreeing in her heart with everything he said. Leo kissed her hand and then stared at her wedding ring. Running his finger over it, his expression turned serious. His sigh took Greenlee by surprise, giving her the feeling that her perfect moment wasn't meant to last.

"Leo, what is it?" she asked with concern.

"As much as we'd like to pretend the world out there doesn't exit, Greens," he began. "We both know we have some important things to talk about."

"Not in my book we don't," Greenlee tried to stop him and hold onto the moment.

"Greens," Leo told her apologetically. "I love you – heart and soul, you know that right?"

"I don't like where this is going," she said apprehensively.

"You know it, right?" Leo repeated.

"Of course I do," she answered. "The same way I love you."

"That's my girl," Leo kissed her hand again before looking back into her big brown eyes. "Okay, here's how it is," he told her softly, tenderly stroking her face and neck. "We're not in the clear yet. When I was gone, this guy was holding me. He said he got me out of the rapids."

"So let's throw him a party," Greenlee offered, trying to lighten the mood again.

"It wasn't all selfless," Leo continued. "He wanted Vanessa's diamonds – I was just his way to find them. He mentioned something about his boss wanting me dead but I was able to knock him out and escape. I made it here and lucked out with Claire – she's been great to me."

"Leo," Greenlee stopped him, her voice uneasy. "When you knocked this guy out, it didn't happen to be with a hard object to the left cheek, did it?"

Leo nodded, wide eyed with worry.

"I think we've met," she told him. Leo's eyes grew wider. "Don't worry, Leo," she calmed his nerves. "He's deader than a doornail."

"I… are you okay? Did he do anything to you?"

"Well that's the thing, Leo. He was going to kill me. He said that would get the diamonds out in the open. But the next thing I knew, there was a gunshot and a dead body at my feet. I don't understand what happened."

Leo let out a sigh of relief. "I guess that means I was right. His boss must have turned on him once he went after you. He obviously thought killing his goon looked less suspicious than something happening to you; and he needs you alive to get to me and the diamonds."

"You have them," she understood, a hint of fear in her voice.

"I had to keep you safe, Greenlee," he confirmed. "As much as I'd love to burn them all and forget any of this ever happened, my being alive is a threat to whoever was after that money. I had to take them to protect you."

"So what do we do?" Greenlee asked her husband. "How does this nightmare end?"

"We need to find out who wants the diamonds. We know someone has been keeping an eye on you, hoping I show up; that must be who saved you. You made sure no one was following you here, right?"

"I didn't notice anyone," Greenlee answered. "But I wasn't paying all that much attention to the road in front of me either. A little Bambi out there almost found that out the hard way."

"Well has anyone been acting strange lately?" Leo probed further.

"Ryan is being nice to me."

"That is strange," he snickered. "The world coming to an end or something?"

"I thought the exact same thing!" she exclaimed.

"Nice to see we're still in sync, Greens," Leo smiled at her. "But he already knows I'm alive so we're going to have to trust him. Anyone else always hanging around, or acting out of the ordinary?"

"Jackson seemed very interested in the diamonds," Greenlee pointed out. "That's not so unusual though; everyone knows the Proteus case was making him look like a fool. But he has been a little obsessive lately. And well…"

"Greenlee?" Leo noticed her look away from him. "There's something else isn't there?"

"Your brothers too," Greenlee sighed. "They've both been great, really, but they're no models of all that's good and right with the world."

"Greenlee, come on," Leo tried to stop where this was going.

"I'm not saying it's them, Leo. I mean, you know how I feel about Trey, but he has just been trying to help. And David, he's been my lifeline; I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."

"Wait a minute," Leo grinned. "Are you, Greenlee Smythe duPres, admitting to liking someone in my bloodline? Can we get a camera and re-tape this scene?"

Greenlee playfully slapped his shoulder, causing Leo to grimace in some real pain. Her expression turned apologetic upon realizing what she had done. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"No, don't worry about it," Leo interrupted her. "I'd rather feel pain from you than love from anyone else any day."

Greenlee couldn't help but let a smile curl onto her face. Only Leo had that natural gift to turn any moment into something sweet. "You know," she snickered suggestively. "I can make you feel a lot of other things too." She leaned towards her husband and kissed him passionately. He responded in kind, placing his hands on the back of her head and letting her tongue enter his mouth. "Mmm," Leo hummed when their lips finally parted. "So how did that feel?" Greenlee smiled mischievously, brushing her hair off to the side of her face.

Leo laughed and teasingly shook his head at his wife. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"Uh huh," she agreed, leaning forward to kiss him again.

"Whoa, hold on a sec, Greens," Leo stopped her. "There is nothing I'd rather do than make love to you right now, you know that…"

"What is it, Leo?" she questioned. "Being in someone else's house never stopped us before."

"That's not it," Leo answered, grabbing her hand and once again staring at her wedding ring. "Listen, Greens," he told her, his tone apologetic. "When you go, you can't tell anyone I'm alive. It's the only way I can keep you safe. No one is going to come after you as long as the world thinks I'm dead, and they won't want to get the police involved any more than they already are."

"What!" she burst out. "You don't honestly expect me to leave you, duPres! I'm staying right here!"

"It's the only way, Greens," he sadly told her. "You need to go back and keep the status quo so no one gets suspicious. I needed to let you know that I was okay, but you can't stay here with me."

"Watch me!" she fell onto his chest, holding him with all her might. "They're going to have to pry my dead body off of you!"

Leo looked down at his strong-willed wife and sighed as he let his hand rest on the back of her head. "Claire! Ryan!" Leo called out. Within seconds, the two of them appeared in the doorway. "I'm going to figure this all out, Greenlee, I promise you. But I need to keep you safe. I won't let you be put in danger again because of me."

Leo's words fell on deaf ears as Greenlee refused to let go. He looked up to Ryan: "Can I trust you, Ryan?"

"Absolutely. Whatever you need," Ryan confirmed.

"You planning on sticking around Pine Valley?" Leo asked him

"For a little bit, at least," Ryan responded. "I've got a room at the Valley Inn – 313."

"Okay then. I need you to keep an eye on Greenlee – make sure she stays safe. And as I'm sure Claire already told you, I need you to keep everything that's happened this morning a secret. I'm still dead, got it?"

"Sure, man," Ryan agreed, nervous about the first request. If Leo knew what Ryan was feeling towards his wife, fake or not, Ryan wouldn't have been near the top of Leo's people-to-trust list; but what can you tell a dead guy with no one else to turn to? "You can count on me."

"Great," Leo smiled. "But first things first; can you pry my beautiful wife here off of me? She's not going to go willingly."

"Yeah," Ryan obliged, walking over to the bed. "Come on, Greenlee. Time to go." Ryan, being much stronger than Greenlee, easily got the petite woman off of Leo. She looked back at her husband sadly, tears forming in her eyes. "Wait for me to contact you again," Leo requested of his wife. "I'll see you soon, I promise."

She nodded back at him.

"Just be the strong woman that you are, Greenlee. And never forget how much I love you."

"I love you too," Greenlee sniffed. She turned around but didn't start walking. Turning her head to take one last look at her husband, she smiled. Leaving was hard, but knowing he was alive could get her through anything. "Let's go," Ryan softly told her, placing his hand on her back. She nodded and allowed Ryan to lead her out of the room and outside the glorious secluded home where her miracle had come true. Looking back up at the cabin, Greenlee awkwardly shuffled her car keys, unsure she could bring herself to use them. "How about you let me drive you home," Ryan offered. "We don't need you crashing into some poor deer now that you know Leo's alive."

"Sure, Ryan," she agreed. Her euphoria hadn't reached her brain yet, but her whole body was feeling it. Feeling light as a feather, she was having difficulty controlling her motions – driving probably wasn't the best idea for her right now. "But can you take me straight to the Valley Inn? I promised David I'd meet him there for lunch."


	9. The Important Things of Life

"As much as I appreciate your company, Greenlee," David eyed his sister-in-law, "I was hoping to do more than just watch you eat."

Greenlee paused from her rush to empty her plate and looked up at David. She had been trying to avoid conversation with him as much as possible, worried that she might let Leo's secret slip. But she could tell that David wasn't going to let her get away with ignoring him for much longer.

"Let's see, Greenlee," David smiled. "For the what? twenty or thirty minutes we've been here, you've barely taken your eyes off of the table. And every couple minutes or so you've had this weird look on your face – like a smile is trying to come out and you won't let it. Come on, give me some credit here. I know something is going on with you. Spill."

Greenlee wanted so badly to tell him everything. Holding in all this newfound glorious energy was driving her crazy. When you win the lottery, do you not tell a soul? When you climb Mount Everest, do you keep it to yourself? And when the love of your life comes back from the dead, do you not want to shout it from the rooftops? "It's nothing, really," she lied, desperately trying to hold back a smile.

David tauntingly shook his head at her. He knew she was lying. Now that she had finally allowed him to make eye contact, he could see there was something in there he hadn't seen in a while. He was certainly no expert on social interaction, but the woman he had been so worried about lately didn't have the twinkle in her eyes that he was seeing right now. "Okay, you're not talking," he acknowledged. "But don't think I'm not onto you, Greenlee. There was some reason you rushed me and Trey out this morning and you don't want to tell me why. Fine. But know that I can tell you're hiding something from me." He tilted his head at her with a raised eyebrow and stared at her for a couple seconds waiting for a reaction. Greenlee's cheeks began to swell up as she tried to hide her emotions. "See – that!" David slapped his hand down on the table. "What was that?"

A laugh escaped from Greenlee before she quickly caught herself and lowered her head away from her brother-in-law.

"Does this have something to do with the package you got last night? Whatever it was that belonged to Leo? I was his brother, remember? It's okay to tell me what it was."

"It was something private," Greenlee told him, realizing she may have found a way to satisfy David enough to end his line of questioning. "And yes, that's why I'm feeling better than I have in a while. It terns out that having something else of Leo to hold onto was what I needed more than anything."

David laughed at her. "Getting warmer," he told her as he chuckled.

"I'm telling the total truth, David," she lied again. "Swear."

"So tell me what was in the package," he pressed on.

"Leo wants…" Greenlee paused, immediately realizing her error. She grabbed her napkin and brushed it over her mouth, despite the lack of any food there that needed to be wiped away. "He _would_ want. Leo would want some things to stay between the two of us. Not every part of our life together can be public knowledge, David."

He smiled and shook his head again. "Is the truth ever going to come out of you?"

"How's Anna?" Greenlee asked, attempting to change the topic. "And the baby?" she asked further, knowing that was David's soft spot.

David took a deep breath. "The doctors say she may have some complications with the baby, but it's too early to tell for sure."

"And how are things between you two?" Greenlee asked, thankful that David was taking the bait.

"Anna and I," he sighed. "Well… nothing's changed on that front. She won't give me another chance." Greenlee looked at him sympathetically. She wished he could have the life and the family that he deserved. David noticed her concern. "I know what you're thinking, Greenlee," he continued. "You're thinking that we've both learned that life is too short, and every second needs to be taken advantage of, right?"

She nodded in agreement, thinking back to when she was sitting alone at the falls; how she regretted all the time she and Leo had wasted.

"But what can I do?" he pointed out. "Me and Anna – we're not you and Leo. I may love her, but if she won't have me…"

"No!" Greenlee stopped him. "I can't believe that and neither should you. We just need to show her how she has changed you; how you're not that same person anymore that hid Maria. Show her the person you've shown me." Greenlee reached over and placed her hand on top of David's and looked up into his eyes. "If Anna is really the person you're meant to be with, you can't waste another second."

David's reactive sigh threw her off. She knew she was right, but how could she tell David to stop wasting time when here she was doing exactly that? She felt her eyes moistening up as her tone grew stronger. "Love needs to be held onto, David," she pleaded. "It's why we're all here!" Tears began to fill her eyes, but she continued on, chocking out the words: "You need to go to Anna and try again, David. You can't afford to waste any more time!" Her own words felt like a knife pierced through her heart. What was she doing here? How could she let Leo talk her into this? So what if he wanted to keep her out of danger; he still was! How could she leave him knowing that he wasn't safe? How could he let her believe in tomorrow when there was no guarantee he would make it that long?

"Greenlee?" David asked noticing that the wet face he had become so familiar with lately was back. "What's wrong?"

Greenlee wiped her face with her napkin as she stood up. "No… I… I shouldn't be here right now! I shouldn't…"

"Where are you going?" David called after her, watching Greenlee run off.

"Taking my own advice," Greenlee mumbled to herself as she ran from the Valley Inn's dinning room, hurriedly searching for her car keys in her purse. So what if Leo said staying with him wasn't safe? If she and Leo were being given another chance, she couldn't waste another second.

----------

Claire exited her cabin, off to her somewhat daily trip to the gym, with her trademark smile. She thought about what a great day this was shaping up to be. She was thrilled that Leo got the chance to see his wife again, and now he was looking happier than she'd ever seen during their brief time together. Tomorrow they were going to begin their search to find out about the diamonds and who was after them. Then Leo and Greenlee could have the happily ever after they deserved.

Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching her. The man rubbed on the gun hidden in the side pocket of his jacket. It couldn't be random that Greenlee had come out here to the middle of nowhere, he thought. It had to have something to do with the diamonds and Leo. He watched Claire drive away before emerging from behind some trees and setting his sights on the cabin. He licked his lips in anticipation, hoping all his work was about to pay off. Whatever it was that made Greenlee come here, he was going to find out right now.

He quietly walked up to the door and leaned his ear up against it, but heard no noises coming from the inside. The door looked old and worn out – the lock was probably the same way; getting inside wouldn't be too difficult. He was able to jimmy the lock quickly and opened the door as quietly as possible.

Taking his first steps into the cabin, he noticed a large empty room. With his hand on his gun, he tiptoed his way into the kitchen, again finding no one. There were two more rooms connected to the kitchen: one of the doors was wide open and leading to the empty master bedroom. The other door was slightly ajar, but he could see that the lights were out. He walked towards the second door and lightly pushed on it to get a better view inside.

Within was a sight for sore eyes: Leo duPres asleep in the bed. He grinned and held up the gun, using his free hand to turn on the light. "Tired are we, Leo?" he asked sarcastically, noticing the light had cause the handsome man to awaken. "I must say, you've been giving me a lot of trouble."

Leo looked up in shock, less because of the gun pointed in his direction than from the person holding it. "You son of a bitch," Leo angrily shook his head at the man. "I gave you a chance. I accepted you when you had nothing."

"Oh come on, Leo," he responded. "Don't look so surprised. You always knew this about me." The man's expression turned serious as he held the gun steady, pointed at Leo's forehead. "Now where are the diamonds… little brother."


	10. For Us We Fight to the Death

Leo looked up in shock, less because of the gun pointed in his direction than from the person holding it. "You son of a bitch," Leo angrily shook his head at the man. "I gave you a chance. I accepted you when you had nothing."

"Oh come on, Leo," he responded. "Don't look so surprised. You always knew this about me." The man's expression turned serious as he held the gun steady, pointed at Leo's forehead. "Now where are the diamonds… little brother."

Leo didn't move. He stared at Trey in disgust as he thought about the past few months he had spent with his long lost brother – it was all a lie.

"The diamonds," Trey repeated impatiently. "Now!"

"Or what?" Leo rhetorically questioned. "What? You'll shoot me now instead of after you get the diamonds?"

"You know I can do worse than that, Leo," Trey smirked at him. "There is a lot more than one bullet in here." A shiver ran up Leo's spine as he understood his brother's implication. Trey had easy access to his family: Greenlee, David, Maggie – Leo's whole world. Trey had to be stopped now.

"Alright, alright," Leo conceded, very slowly getting up from the bed and consciously trying to exaggerate the severity of his injuries. "Give me a sec." He finally stood up straight and began walking gingerly, faking a limp.

"Let's go! Hurry up!" Trey anxiously tried to speed up his little brother. As soon as he got those diamonds and took care of the loose end standing in front of him, he was getting the hell out of this dump of a town and on his way to the high life.

"Relax," Leo told him, making his way towards the dresser in the corner of the room. "You're not the one who just took a hundred foot fall, okay. I'm moving as fast as I can over here." He finally reached the dresser and pulled out the bag of diamonds from the top drawer.

"Let me see the bag!" Trey ordered loudly. Leo began to approach Trey to hand him the diamonds when Trey repositioned the gun, letting him know not to come any closer. "Put them on the ground and then kick the bag over here!"

"Hello! You taken a look at me lately?" Leo yelled. "Does it look like I'm in any condition to stop you?"

"Do it!" Trey commanded, repositioning the gun again to let Leo know that he was willing to use it.

Leo slowly bent down, making sure that Trey could see him grimacing, and placed the bag on the ground.

"Now kick it here!" Trey ordered.

Leo rose up slowly, shaking his head in disappointment at Trey. "Things could have been so much better than this," Leo stated sadly. "You had a family willing to take you in; you could have had a real life. Take it from me: the con life won't make you happy, Trey. Whatever you want out of life you won't find with that money."

"Oh and you're my role model now!" Trey shot back, clearly affected by Leo's remark. Even he could admit to himself that it felt good having a family for the first time in his life. "Don't talk to me about how to live my life! You don't know the first thing about… you know what? Shut the hell up and kick me the diamonds!... Now, damn it!"

Leo again made sure Trey could see his fake limp. He lightly kicked the bag, sending it only a couple feet. Trey stared angrily at his little brother for failing to do what he was told. Leo shrugged him off. "I can barely move my leg, Trey," he explained. "That's the best I can do."

Trey looked furious. "You mocking me now, Leo?"

"Just stating a fact," he responded.

"Fine. I'll get them myself," Trey gave in. "Get down on the floor!"

Leo slowly moved his body towards the ground, ending up on one knee. Trey held the gun steady at Leo and he walked forward to retrieve the bag.

"Just a little closer," Leo thought as he discreetly planted his back foot. In his current condition he would be no match for Trey in a fair fight; but if he could get the jump on him, he stood a chance of making it out of the cabin alive. "Come on, just get your eyes off of me and onto the diamonds… yeah that's it… almost there… a little more… 1… 2…" Leo waited for his opening. Trey bent down for the diamonds and his eyes lit up when he realized they were in fact the real deal. Leo saw the look in his eyes; his focus was split.

"3!" Leo yelled, springing at his brother.

----------

Greenlee drove off the road and between the same row of trees she had been through that morning to reach Cabin 32. The entire drive over she had been rehearsing what she was going to tell Leo to convince him to let her stay. She knew he would argue with her, but he didn't know what it was like to mourn him – he didn't know what she had gone through. Maybe she could convince him to run away with her; somewhere that no one would ever find them. Or maybe if he agreed to tell everyone he was alive, they could have Anna give them personal security guards or something. Whatever it was going to be, they were going to be together again – she wasn't going to leave the cabin any other way.

An eerie feeling came over Greenlee as she saw the front of the cabin. The car that was there this morning was no longer there, but the door was halfway open; something wasn't right. She stopped her car in front of the cabin and uneasily walked towards the door. She could hear noises coming from the inside but couldn't make out what was going on. Then a noise shot out that was unmistakable:

_Bang!_

"Leo. Oh my God, Leo!" Greenlee whispered in terror, afraid her worst fear had come true. She burst through the door, frantically looking around for her husband. She saw him lying on the ground just outside the door to his room and ran towards him. Leo was clutching his left arm in obvious pain when he noticed her. His expression turned from pain to horror as he saw her running up to him.

"Greenlee, you have to get out of here!" Leo worriedly pleaded. "You need to run!"

"Are you nuts!" she cried. "We need to get you to a hospital! Let me see your arm!"

Leo's panicked expression turned away from his wife and towards the man who was exiting his room, his eyes frozen wide in fear. "Leo," Greenlee tried to force his attention back to her. "Leo, look at me!" her eyes filling with tears as her voice started to choke up. "Come on, baby, I can't lose you again!"

Sporting a cut lip, Trey looked angrily at Leo. He put the bag of diamonds in his coat pocket and reached his now free hand up to his lip, clearing off the blood. His other hand held the gun tightly as he lifted it up, preparing to finish the job. "Son of a bitch. You're going to regret that, Leo."

Hearing Trey's voice, Greenlee turned around to see that it was her brother-in-law that Leo had been so worried about all along. Her eyes widened at the sight of the gun pointed at her husband.

"Trey! What are you doing?" she cried.

The sight of his sister-in-law gave Trey pause. "I… I don't want you to get hurt, Greenlee. Just get off of him and… and I'll let you go."

"Please, Greens," Leo weakly got the words out as he tried to push her away with his good arm. "You need to go. Save yourself."

Greenlee turned her head back to her husband. "I'm not leaving you," she whispered. "For us, we fight to the death, remember?"

Trey's hand shook as he held the gun. "Greenlee, please," he begged, his voice quivering uncomfortably. "Please don't make me hurt you?"

Greenlee looked up at Trey, her big brown eyes begging him to have mercy on her husband. "Trey, stop this. He's your brother, Trey. Please, let him go?"

Trey shook his head, trying to gain back control of the situation, but Greenlee's presence was clearly affecting him. "I can't… I'm sorry, Greenlee," he told her, his voice sounding surprisingly genuine.

"You've already got your blood money," Leo mustered out, his eyes closed shut as he tried to block out the pain from the bullet wound. "Take it and run."

"We need to get him to a hospital, Trey!" Greenlee pleaded.

Trey looked at Greenlee apologetically, knowing what he had to do. His arm slowly moved sideways; the gun now aimed at his sister-in-law.

"No, don't," Leo tried to yell.

Trey didn't seem to hear his brother as his gaze stayed on a terrified Greenlee. "I'm sorry it had to be like this, Greenlee," he apologized; his voice unsteady. "You know? I cared about you. Then the second Leo says he wants you back – that's it, we're done."

Greenlee's terror started to fade. She knew the look of a killer. She had seen it in Vanessa many times. She even saw it in Trey when she first saw him aiming at Leo. But Trey lost that look as he aimed at her; she didn't think he had it in him to kill her.

"We had a good thing going," Trey continued.

"We never had a thing," Greenlee responded quizzically.

"But we could have!" Trey shot back, trying unsuccessfully to hold back his emotions. "You could have loved me, I know it; the way I was starting to love you. But then Leo comes back into the picture and I get tossed aside, just like I always got tossed aside by one foster home after another."

Greenlee slowly stood up with a certain poise about her. She felt confident from how Trey was talking to her that he wouldn't hurt her.

"Okay, Trey, I'm sorry," she offered. "I didn't know you felt so strongly."

"Greenlee?" Leo started to question what she was doing, but the pain wouldn't let him get out any more words than that. Greenlee looked back at him. It was time for her to save him – and she knew exactly what she had to do.

She slowly took off her jacket, her eyes locked on Trey's. Still wearing her fancy dress from this morning, Greenlee looked good and she knew it. "Maybe I can still love you, Trey, but you have to give me the chance."

Trey's eyes widened as he looked at her. Sweat formed on his forehead as he tried to regain himself. "What are you trying to pull, Greenlee?" Trey questioned, unconfidently pointing the gun at her. "I know how you feel about my brother so don't go thinking you can play me."

"Then you also know I would do anything to save him," she answered. She looked back at Leo, who was struggling to not black out from the pain coming from his arm, and then back up at Trey. "Anything," she repeated suggestively, lightly brushing the left strap of her dress off of her shoulder.

Trey slowly lowered the gun as she walked towards him. He looked down at the gorgeous petite woman in awe, as if the rest of the world had stopped existing.

"So," Greenlee continued. "You got a phone with you?"

Trey nodded, excitedly pulling a cell phone out of his pants pocket.

"Then here's the deal," she told him. "We call the hospital for Leo, and the two of us will be on a flight to Bora Bora, the Bahamas, or anywhere else it is you want to go before the ambulance can even get here." She moved closer to him and rose up on the tips of her toes to move her mouth up next to his ear. "Do we have a deal?" she whispered.

"Seal it with a kiss," Trey grinned widely, his inner dork coming to the surface.

Greenlee playfully chuckled. "Whatever you say," she answered seductively. She slowly rose up to kiss him. Trey's smile was ear to ear as he waited for her lips to reach his. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth ready for his fantasy to come true. Greenlee saw his eyes close and smiled – self-defense class was about to come in handy. She lifted her knee with all her strength straight into the one area that would stop any man in his tracks. Trey collapsed to the floor – the cell phone dropping from his hand. Greenlee frantically picked it up and dialed 911 as she ran back towards a half-conscious Leo. "Stay with me, Leo," she hysterically patted his cheek, trying to keep him awake. "I need an ambulance at Cabin 32 now!" she yelled into the phone immediately after someone answered her call. "My husband – he was shot. Please hurry!" She looked up and noticed Trey was stumbling back onto his feet. He angrily pointed the gun at Leo. Greenlee's eyes grew wide in terror.

"No!" she screamed, jumping on top of her husband's body.

_Bang!_

----------

Trey stumbled his way out of the cabin and through the trees as fast as he could. Greenlee's below the belt blow hadn't worn off yet, but he had to get out of there as soon as possible – before the cops and ambulances arrived. He crossed the road and hobbled through some more trees until he reached his car, parked hidden from view from the main road. He took one last look back towards the cabin as he clutched the door handle to the drivers' seat, mentally kicking himself for letting Greenlee use him like that. Remembering his mission, he felt for the bag of diamonds in his coat pocket – still there. He didn't need Greenlee to be happy; it was all about the money. Now he just had to get out of the country before anyone could find out what happened. He smiled and opened the car door to begin his escape, but collapsed before he could enter; a sudden searing pain in his left leg forcing him to the ground. The gun dropped from his hand, falling a couple feet away. He looked down at his leg to see a dart sticking out of it – he'd been shot.

Trey panicked when he realized he could no longer move his leg; he must have been hit with some sort of tranquilizer. His vision began to blur as he looked around for his attacker. He made out two figures approaching him: one a large figure and the other a shorter image that seemed familiar.

"Nice shot, Bruno," a woman's voice complemented the larger man. She bent down, face to face with Trey. Trey struggled to focus his vision on the woman, but with the face now only inches away from him, he could tell exactly who it was.

"Trey, darling," the woman told him matter-of-factly. "You don't look so well."

Trey gasped in fear. "Va… Vanessa! But you're dead. He saw your body!"

"Trey, Trey, Trey," Vanessa shook her head at her son. "Did Bubba tell you that? Or should I call him Jason Long. Ah yes. Good labor – far too young to die."

Trey tried to use his arms to push himself towards his gun, but realized he had lost control of them too. "Don't bother, my dear," Vanessa smiled. "You'll be paralyzed for the next fifteen minutes… well, if I let you live that long that is."

"You set me up," Trey realized, his voice shaking.

"Come now, darling," Vanessa laughed. "Everyone knows that when you want to hire someone, it's a good idea to do background checks, make phone calls – all that nice stuff to find out about their past, previous employers – the whole deal. If you wanted to be like you dear mother so bad, you should have just asked me for guidance. I could have molded you into something useful like Leo used to be. Alas, another worthless son. You see, Trey: it was all so perfect; my diamonds, Greenlee dead, and you taking the fall for it all." She paused, chuckling at her own brilliance. "You were supposed to go to prison for Greenlee's murder, Trey. You were my ticket out of this blasted hellhole. But you had to save that wretched little swine and it's going to cost you your life. Just tell me this, Trey, hmm: why is it that my entire offspring has to go gaga over that girl, huh? What is so bloody special about her?"

Trey struggled to stay with his mother as he tried to fight off the affects of the tranquilizer. "But how," he struggled to get the words out. "How did… you…?"

"…Survive?" Vanessa finished his sentence. "I can't give away all my secrets, darling; even to a dead man." She patted down her son in search for the diamonds, finding them in a coat pocket. She held them up, admiring their glow. "Thank you for my diamonds, Trey. Your mother is proud of you for trying." Vanessa stood up and turned toward the large man by her side. "Be a dear and take care of the messy stuff, Bruno. You know what to do after that."

Vanessa turned around and began walking away. The sound of sirens hurriedly approached from the distance, drowning out Trey's pleas for his life. A gunshot rang out from behind her as she looked down at her diamonds – back home with mama.


	11. The Hospital

A disoriented Greenlee was able to slowly get her eyes halfway open. She was in a big, light colored room similar to one she had been in not too long ago. Her back felt stiff as a nail, but something touching her hand gave her warmth. She turned her head to see Leo, his left arm resting in a sling, sitting next to her hospital bed and holding her hand. He looked exhausted even through the joy on his face at seeing his wife finally awake.

Greenlee smiled at her husband. "You look like hell," she quipped in a whisper.

"You look like my angel," Leo smiled. He lovingly looked at his wife, marveling at her ability to make jokes within seconds of waking up from a gunshot wound. "You saved my life, Greens."

"So tell me something, Leo," Greenlee sighed, allowing him to play with her fingers as he waited patiently for her to find the strength between breaths to talk to him. "I did something noble for once, and what happens? I'm the one stuck in a hospital bed and you get to walk around here with nothing but that ugly arm rest? Hardly seems fair."

Leo laughed at his wife's jest and moved his good hand onto her cheek and then brushed her hair behind her ear. Greenlee's grin widened at his touch. "It wasn't my back that they had to take a bullet out of," he told her. "I got away with only a flesh wound thanks to you."

"You know me," Greenlee purred. "I'm good with a phone."

"How did you manage to call 911 anyway? The last thing I remember, Trey was pointing the gun at you, and then… I don't know, total blank. How did you do it?"

A light chuckle escaped her. "I'll show you later."

"Greenlee, I'm serious…"

_Knock knock_

David stood at the doorway to the room, wearing his white medical coat and holding a clipboard. A wide smile came onto his face at seeing Leo and Greenlee interacting again.

"How's our lovely patient doing today," David asked as he walked up to the bed.

"She just woke up," Leo answered his older brother. "It doesn't look like that bullet affected her sense of humor…"

"…or her hatred of hospitals," Greenlee piped in. "So when am I getting out of here?"

"Well, you were very lucky, Greenlee," David began to answer. "The bullet didn't hit any major organs or cause serious damage. You will have to stay at least one more night, but if you're feeling stronger tomorrow, I don't see why you can't leave then."

"Then I'll be out of here tomorrow," Greenlee stated as authoritatively as she could in her weakened condition.

"You heard the lady," Leo snickered. "When this one sets her mind to something, it's as good as done."

David laughed at the two of them. The scene made him feel like the past few weeks never happened. "Okay then, I'll leave you two alone," David backed away. "You deserve to enjoy each other's company without me in the way."

David made it halfway out the door before he realized something. "If I told you guys that you should both be taking it easy for a little while would it do any good?" He noticed Leo and Greenlee smile wickedly at each other at the comment and chuckled. "That's what I thought," he shook his head in quiet laughter as he turned back to exit. "Just make sure you don't end up back in my hospital."

"Never again," Greenlee hoped, her eyes locked on Leo's. "If I have to come back to this hospital one more time I should just buy my own personal room – I'll call it Paris; we'll add a Jacuzzi, maybe hire some Parisian musicians to play for us. And I'll definitely have to buy some more fashionable hospital gowns."

"Well you can forget about all of that, Greens, because it's over. We're free. No more Vanessa, no more family baggage, no more reasons to end up in hospitals; just you and me and Paris – the real deal Paris, not some hospital room. And we're going as soon as possible." Leo leaned down and kissed her hand. "What do you think, babe?"

"Leo!" she squeaked happily. She could feel it: finally their dreams were going to come true.

"Looks like someone's awake," Jackson's voice interrupted their moment. "May I come in?"

Leo nodded and stood up from his seat in respect for the older man.

"You should know, Greenlee," Jackson told her, "that this guy right here spent all night in that seat. Bianca had to visit him in here because he said he wouldn't leave your side until you woke up."

"I'm very lucky in more ways than one," she agreed, looking over at Leo.

Leo blushed, until he noticed Jackson's expression turn serious. "What do you want, Jackson?" he asked the DA worriedly.

"Greenlee, do you mind if I borrow your husband for a second?" Jackson asked her. She nodded that it was okay. "Leo?" he extended his hand towards the hallway, inviting him to leave first. Leo bent back down towards Greenlee. "Get some rest, okay. You need to be ready to restart our life together." He kissed her on her forehead and then on her lips. Greenlee sighed in acceptance. "I love you, Leo."

"I love you too."

"What is going on, Jackson?" Leo inquired as the two tall men walked down the hallway.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Jackson stuttered. "I heard you talking to Greenlee – promising her Paris. But I need you two to put your plans on hold for a little bit longer."

"I don't understand," Leo questioned. "What's keeping us here? Go find Trey and lock the bastard up for life."

"We did find Trey."

"Perfect. So you've got your diamonds and Greenlee and I have our freedom."

Jackson stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. "We found his body, Leo. Not far from the cabin where they got to you and Greenlee. Trey is dead, and he didn't have the diamonds."

"Trey… he…" Leo tried to control his breathing. Not wanting to focus on the first bit of Jackson's news, he thought about the second. "No, that can't be. I told you what I remember, Jackson. Trey had the diamonds. And since Greenlee and I both ended up in the hospital, he definitely left the cabin with them."

Jackson's expression didn't change at Leo's explanation. "Wait a minute," Leo realized, taking a step back. "What are you accusing me of doing here, Jackson? God! Why am I the scapegoat of all the police blunders in this town!"

"Relax, kid," Jackson told him softly. "I haven't accused you of anything yet, but you can't leave town right now until we figure out what happened to Trey and those diamonds."

Leo stood there dumbfounded. Every time he thought life was about to work out, a new obstacle always seemed to come up. "Look, Leo, um, I have a meeting to be at, but we'll be in touch." Jackson put his hand on Leo's shoulder. "I'm sorry about your brother."

As Jackson walked away from Leo, David entered the hallway and immediately noticed his brother's solemn demeanor and hurried up to him.

"Leo? What are you doing out here?" he asked. "Is Greenlee alright?"

"It's Trey," Leo responded. "He's dead."

----------

As Jackson and Leo had exited Greenlee's room and walked down the hallway, they didn't notice a man sneak into the room. Ryan had come as soon as he heard about the shooting, intending to see Leo. But with Leo looking otherwise occupied at the moment and seeing Greenlee motionless in her hospital bed, he couldn't help slipping in to see her.

Greenlee noticed him enter, but pretended to be asleep. She wasn't feeling strong enough to deal with Ryan right now. "Just stay quiet and don't move and he'll go away on his own," she thought.

Ryan grabbed the seat by her bed and sat down. He grabbed her hand as he stared at her, waiting for some kind of movement from her to see that she was okay.

"I'm so sorry, Greenlee," he finally blurted out. "I promised Leo I'd watch over you and I didn't do that. I let you down and you got hurt because of it."

"I didn't need a babysitter, Ryan," she thought.

"I'm just so sorry about everything," he rambled on, assuming she was still unconscious. "About everything. I had you all wrong, Greenlee. I always thought you could never really care about anyone but yourself, but you risked everything for Leo. You're not that same person anymore that I hated. You're a caring and loving human being and I'm so sorry I never saw that in you before. So you need to wake up, Greenlee, because Leo can't live without you and I finally understand why. I guess I'm too late to see it though. You need to come back to us for Leo. He loves you more than anything, so whatever this is that I'm feeling for you right now – whatever love is there for you is…"

"What!" Greenlee's eyes shot open.

Ryan jumped back from his seat in shock.

"Greenlee, I… I thought you were…"

"What did you just say?"

"Uh… nothing. I…" Ryan stuttered uncomfortably as his mind worked overtime for a way to get out of this one. "I... I'm sorry… Leo is… he'll be back any second… I did come to see him but, um… I'll do that later."

Greenlee looked at him in bewilderment, not sure whether she should feel sorry for him or try to slap him.

"I should go," Ryan offered, hurriedly exiting her room, making sure Leo wasn't coming as he reached the doorway. Suddenly, visiting Leo didn't seem too important anymore. Avoiding him was his new top priority.


	12. The Things That Motivate Us

"It's Trey," Leo responded. "He's dead."

Leo's eyes were blood red, even though no tears were falling. David put his arm around his little brother's shoulder, being careful not to put any pressure on his injured left arm. "I'll never understand where you get this from," David told him.

"What?" Leo asked.

"Caring," David answered. "After all the stuff Vanessa pulled on you and Greenlee, you always gave her chance after chance. We both know I haven't been much good for you either, but you always put your neck out on the line for me anyway. And now Trey almost cost you and Greenlee your lives, and you're sitting here actually upset that he's gone. I know I may sound cold but… I just don't know where you find it in you to care so deeply."

Leo ran his hands through his hair and stared into space.

"I wouldn't wish the family you got on anyone," David continued. "Trey isn't worth your tears."

"No, David, it's not that."

"Then what?"

Leo took a deep breath. "It's just that I've always wanted a real family more than anything. I wanted so badly for Guy to be my father, and that went to hell in a hurry. Then lately, we finally had this dysfunctional family thing going with me, you, Trey, Anna, Maggie. We were dysfunctional, but we were a family, and that meant the world to me. I had the world's greatest wife, two brothers who I felt connected to – life was really, really good."

"Okay," David pressed on.

"But I finally get it now. As much as I thought I could have that dream, it just wasn't us. I think that's what Trey's death means, you know? That real family that I thought I could be a part of doesn't really exit. Trey turns out to be the psycho Greenlee warned me he was; you and Anna are having your issues. It just wasn't meant to be. We're all just a bunch of screw-ups."

"At least one of us turned out okay," David patted his brother on the knee.

"Come on, David."

"No, I mean it, Leo," David told him confidently. "You're our moral light – well, at least mine. I'm just glad you're back, even if it means Trey really was a psycho. The world is better off getting you back in exchange for him."

"Well the blinders are off now," Leo assured his brother, cutting his hand through the air. "That dream is dead. Greenlee is my real family; she's the one that will always be there for me and never let me down. And you better believe I'm going to treat her like a queen for the rest of our lives."

"You're still upset that she's in the hospital," David realized.

"I should have done things differently, David," Leo explained, his eyes still a dry red. "I wanted to protect her and instead she took a bullet because of me." Leo covered his eyes with his right hand and then brushed it down his face.

"You did the right thing, Leo," David reassured him. "You did protect Greenlee and the rest of us too. You just forgot that that wife of yours never does what you think she will, and it's a damn good thing too because otherwise you wouldn't be here right now."

Leo nodded, half a smile appearing on his tired face.

"Now your brother wants to give you some advice from an advanced medical perspective."

"What's that?" Leo asked.

"Get some sleep!" David ordered, a smile on his face. "You look terrible."

"Yeah, yeah," Leo agreed. "I'll go sit by Greenlee and see if I can fall asleep in that chair."

"Why don't you go home to your bed, Leo? My shift is over in ten minutes, I can give you a ride if you want."

Leo shook his head assertively. "No. As long as Greenlee's here, I'm here. I'll see you tomorrow, David."

"Alright, just make sure you get some sleep," David conceded defeat and stood up to walk away.

"David," Leo called after him, his older brother turning around at his call. "Thanks. At least I hit it big with one brother." David smiled at his little brother before walking off.

After taking a couple moments to collect himself, Leo soon turned around and made his way back to Greenlee's room. He was surprised to see her eyes wide open, staring into space, as he entered.

"Greenlee, sweetie," Leo sat down next to her. "I thought I told you to rest."

"Huh? Oh right, sorry. I'm just a little shell-shocked… never mind."

"Is something wrong, Greens?" Leo asked his wife.

She smiled at him. "You're here with me; what could be wrong?"

Her smile faded as she looked at her husband. "But something is wrong with you, Leo. What is it? What did Jackson talk to you about?"

"Greenlee, it's nothing you need to worry about right now," Leo told her. "All you need to worry about is getting some rest so we can get out of here tomorrow."

"No, Leo," she pushed on. "Come on, I'd like to think I can read you pretty well. I know when something is bothering you." Leo cleared his throat to stall but Greenlee would have none of it. "Let it out, Leo. You know I'm not going to get any rest until I know everything that's going on."

She was right. Leo would have preferred to wait until the morning to tell her that their dreams would have to be put on hold again, but that was impossible now. "It's about Trey," he told her softly. "He's dead and the diamonds are missing, and guess who is probably going to end up on the suspect list even though you can vouch for me."

"Oh Leo, I'm sorry," Greenlee offered. "I know how much you wanted him to be a real part of your family."

"I know," Leo stated. "But that's not the only dream that's come to a screeching halt. Jackson says we're stuck here until they find out what happened to Trey, so Paris is going to have to wait a little longer, Greens, I'm sorry."

Greenlee sighed in disappointment.

"But I'm going to do whatever I can to get this thing settled," Leo continued. "I'm thinking Trey must have had a partner that turned on him – to keep the diamonds for himself. If we can figure out who, then we're free again."

Greenlee stayed motionless in thought, absorbing Leo's words. "You know what, Leo?" Greenlee finally said. "I really want Paris. I dream of the two of us sitting outside on our balcony, listening to the street musicians, and making love without a care in the world. But after these past few weeks, I realize more than ever that it doesn't matter where I am as long as it's with you. So if Paris has to wait, it has to wait. Home is wherever we're together."

"Even if it's this hospital for one more night," Leo smirked.

"Even then," Greenlee laughed. "So you said I need to rest to get strong enough to bust this joint, right?"

"Right," Leo nodded.

"Well you look like you need some rest too," Greenlee smiled widely. "And I know that chair isn't the most comfortable thing in the world and that I'll be able to rest much better in your arms, so why don't you climb up here and hold me?"

"Your wish is my command, my queen," Leo all too eagerly climbed onto her bed, finding just enough room for the two of them to fit. Her giggle when he put his arms around her was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. While lying in that bed with the woman he loved, life made sense again.

----------

Vanessa sat in the middle of a large, empty warehouse, shifting the bag of diamonds between her fingers. Bruno stood by the door, looking through a makeshift peephole for signs of trouble. Vanessa was growing impatient being forced to hide out in holes like a mouse. She wanted out, but needed help to do it.

"He's coming," Bruno announced, opening the door ajar to allow the approaching man to enter unobstructed.

An evil smile curled onto Vanessa's face. It was about damn time he showed up. Jackson Montgomery pushed the door the rest of the way open and uncomfortably entered the warehouse. He hated everything about this: helping Vanessa, lying to everyone, and putting his career on the line. But then again, it was trying to save his career that got him here in the first place.

Feeling composed again, Vanessa sat back in her chair. Bruno showed Jackson the gun tucked underneath his belt and motioned for the DA to walk towards her. Jackson walked up slowly, holding tightly onto a small bag in his right hand. "You're late," Vanessa chided.

"I should turn you in right now you cold hearted witch," Jackson softly, but angrily, told her through his visible white teeth. "No one was supposed to die!"

"Oooo, I'm shaking," Vanessa confidently mocked him. "I don't remember making any promises how I was going to conduct my business."

Jackson bit his tongue and put down the bag.

"Is that everything I asked for?" Vanessa inquired, leaning over for a closer look.

"Just the passport," Jackson answered. "You get the rest if you can somehow honor your part of the deal. And if you don't, I'll make sure they catch you and lock you up for life."

"Oh please, Jackson," Vanessa laughed. "I own you. If I go down you're going down with me. You don't want people knowing exactly how the Paolo charges got mysteriously dropped, do you? It took your kind of connections – with Palmer's money of course – to get me off the hook on that one. Ha. I wonder how long you can hold onto your job and your political aspirations when everyone finds out who it was that helped Proteus bribe her way out prison. Your career would be over, Jackson. So drop the tough guy routine."

Jackson lowered his head in defeat. He had regretted that mistake ever since the day he made it. The only bright spot to this was that getting Vanessa out of the country would at least protect Leo and Greenlee from her, but keeping them in Pine Valley long term was going to be difficult without telling them why they had to stay.

"Now then," Vanessa clapped her hands. "I need my new identity, Jackson, and I need it soon. I need to get somewhere that's safe for me, and unfortunately Leo has shown that he's not ready to make the right choice yet and be with his mother."

"Leo will never want anything to do with you again, Vanessa," Jackson stated, his eyes still on the floor. "You made sure of that yourself."

"No, no," Vanessa angrily denied the claim. "He just needs some more time to see the truth. Soon he'll see that that tramp can't make him happy, not like I can. And then I'll be there for him. And if he is taking too long, well, there are ways I can force him to live without her." Vanessa paused and realized how she had let the DA unnerve her. Leo was the one way to get under her skin, but she would show Leo that she was right all along. Somehow, she was going to get him back.

Vanessa regained herself and once again sat back calmly. "Besides, I did keep my end of the deal after all."

Jackson curiously raised his head wondering where Vanessa was going with this. "What do you mean, Vanessa? You told me you were going to feed me Trey for something; never told me what. But how can you do that with Trey dead?"

Vanessa smirked, her eyes glowing in triumph. "You wanted an arrest, correct? Something to make your office look legitimate instead of the fools you are? I was going to feed you Trey for Greenlee's murder but I assume this will do nicely."

"What did you do, Vanessa?" Jackson asked, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"You found Trey's body, yes?"

Jackson nodded in the affirmative.

"And I venture to guess that your department isn't so incompetent as to not find the murder weapon stashed in the bushes?"

"We found it," Jackson uneasily answered.

"Did your band of morons bother to check who that gun is registered to?"

"That's not so easy to do, Vanessa," Jackson wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "A lot of people own that same model."

"Here's a hint, Jackson," Vanessa glared at him. "Think of someone who would have motive to steal my diamonds, who always needs some extra money around, who knew me and Trey, and who just happened to report a gun of the same model missing not to long ago. I think you'll be very happy with this."

Jackson whipped out his phone to call the police station.

"Good, I see the wheels turning," Vanessa commented. "You make the call and then you get me my new identity so I can get the hell out of this blasted town."

Vanessa licked her lips and whispered, "And Greenlee will get what's coming to her eventually."


	13. Home Sweet Home

"Home sweet home," Leo cheerfully proclaimed as he opened the door to the penthouse with Greenlee in tow, leaning on his side. Being home again felt a thousand times better than mysterious holes, hospitals, and even secluded cabins with sweet old ladies.

"Should I offer to give you a tour?" Greenlee quipped as he helped her take their first steps inside. "It has been a while."

"I really wish you would have listened to Jake and taken the wheelchair, Greenlee," Leo told his wife as he gave her some support with his body to keep her upright. "If you had, we would have been cleared to go this morning instead of having to do our celebratory escape party as dinner in the hospital."

"Greenlee Smythe doesn't do wheelchairs," she immediately answered. "Jake was just being extra cautious as always. Besides, I'm barely limping. Now come on, you're going to help me get a little farther and sit with me on the couch."

"Barely limping?" Leo rhetorically repeated her words as he helped the two of them reach the couch. "I'm practically carrying you. And I've only got one good arm!"

"So I can't play a little damsel in distress and have my gorgeous husband take care of me?" Greenlee purred, now relaxing comfortably next to Leo on the couch.

"Greenlee," Leo tilted his head at his wife. "It's because you're stubborn and you know it."

"That's the woman you married," Greenlee leaned back, inhaling the familiar air of her loft and ecstatically taking in her surroundings. Having Leo back in the penthouse made home feel like home again. "And don't go telling me that you would change a thing."

"Not a thing. You're perfect just the way you are," Leo agreed with a smile; his smile immediately bringing one to her face as well.

"You too," Greenlee told him, resting her head on her hand and staring at her husband.

"I still wish you had taken the wheelchair though."

"Like I wish you were still wearing that sling," Greenlee pointed out; reminding Leo that he had snuck it off the second they had left the hospital.

"Point taken. I concede," Leo decided. "But I really feel great, I do. I'm not going to tell you that my arm doesn't hurt like hell, but the rest of my body feels great again; like I never fell off a cliff."

"The rest of your body, huh?" Greenlee grinned suggestively and shifted her eyes from his face down to his lap. Leo put his finger under her chin and forced her to look back up at his face. "Get your head out of the gutter, girl," he laughed. "You can barely walk on your own and you already want sex!"

"I don't need to be able to walk to do that," Greenlee playfully went on, pretending to pout. "Oh come on, Leo. I thought you were dead! Can't blame a girl for wanting to be with the man of her dreams."

"Flattery," Leo chuckled and nodded. "Good tactic. Go on." Leo inched up closer to her and shifted her onto his lap.

"Okay," Greenlee responded, running her right hand through his hair. "Is it so bad that I want to be together with my insanely attractive husband, my best friend, the man I share everything with and makes life worth living?"

"No, it's not," Leo told her, lightly brushing her nose with his finger, eliciting a giggle from his wife. "But I don't think I've heard enough yet. Is there more?"

"Considering I am sitting on your lap, Leo," Greenlee gulped with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "I uh… I think I know you have heard enough; at least part of you has." She laughed as Leo leaned forward to kiss her, a low hum of pleasure coming out when he did.

"Okay, so you've had your fun now." Leo smiled. "You love torturing me like this, don't you? My beautiful wife is sitting here on my lap and I'm not supposed to want her? I'm trying to do the right thing here by making sure you heal up and stay out of the hospital, like David said, remember?"

"You sat me on your lap," Greenlee shrugged innocently before laughing again and then sighing happily. She gazed through his gorgeous face, getting lost in his perfect features. He stared back into her big brown eyes and got lost himself, never finding an end to his journey.

"Whatcha thinking, Greens?" Leo asked his wife after a couple minutes of blissful silence.

"How nice this is," Greenlee answered, letting her right hand glide to the back of his neck.

"What?"

"This," she explained. "Fooling around; teasing each other; having a good time. I missed these moments so much, Leo."

"I know you did," he told her. "So did I. This is the best isn't it?"

Greenlee hummed in the affirmative. "I mean, I feel like all we did together that last week before Vanessa… um… before everything happened; we spent so much time fighting about your family and about Paris. We didn't spend enough time like this, just being us."

"We won't make that mistake again, Greens," Leo reassured her, running his hands through her medium length hair. "It's you and me against the world, just like it used to be."

"And the other thing I was thinking about…" Greenlee smiled widely

"Yeah?"

"How lucky I am," she told him.

Leo took a deep breath as he gazed at his wife. "Come on, Greens, that goes both ways. You don't have to say that."

"No, I mean it, Leo," Greenlee glowed as hers eyes moistened up. "Not just about getting shot and still being here to talk about it, but it's everything. It's you never leaving my bedside when I was out cold in that hospital, it's you always putting up with stuff that no one else in my life could ever stand for, and it's you filling up my life everyday with all the love and happiness that I'd never known even existed before…"

"Like I said," Leo stopped her, wiping the tears that were starting to come out from her eyes. "It all goes both ways."

"I know it does," she sniffed. "But I got a good look at what my life would be like without you and…"

"You're never going to be without me again, Greens," Leo stopped her again, taking her hand and holding it up in front of them both. "Remember what I told you when Roger died? I held up this ring right here and told you that this is the proof that we're going to be together forever; that this is how we can get through anything." She nodded at him, remembering how awful she felt after Roger died and how Leo could still make her laugh and feel like she had a purpose. "That's all still true, Greenlee," Leo continued. "It's you and me forever."

A laugh escaped Greenlee through her tears when he said "forever." The word made her feel so good that she couldn't help but smile. "There you go and do it again, duPres!" she exclaimed as she brushed off the last watery spots from her face. "I start crying and you somehow make me laugh."

Leo smiled at her and again let her rest her chin on his finger. He leaned forward and gently locked his lips onto hers, enjoying the taste. After a few moments, he felt her try to slip her tongue into his mouth and backed off, catching his breath. She looked at him with disappointment in her eyes at his refusal to go further. "I'm sorry," he told her. "But David did say it would be a good idea to take it easy…"

"He didn't say anything about kissing," Greenlee pointed out.

"You know it's not going to stop there," Leo responded.

"Oh well," Greenlee smiled. "A girl can try. But you know I'm more than happy just sitting here in your arms. We don't ever have to move again."

"I feel the same way," Leo told her, running his hand through her hair. "I love you; I could sit here and stare at you forever."

"Then that's what we're going to do," Greenlee beamed.

_Ring ring_

Leo and Greenlee looked at the ringing phone and then back at each other. "Machine," they agreed simultaneously, smiling at each other.

"Leo? Greenlee?" Anna's voice came out through the answering machine. "I know you left the hospital already so if you're there you need to pick up. It's important."

"Maybe we should get that," Leo sighed, easing Greenlee off of him and walking to the phone. "I'll put the speaker on."

"Come on, pick up the phone," Anna pleaded from the other end.

"We're here," Leo answered after putting the speaker on. He went back over to the couch and sat next to Greenlee. "What's going on?"

"Oh, thank goodness I got a hold of you!" Anna's relieved voice echoed through the loft.

"What's so important, Anna?" Greenlee asked. A little bit of frustration coming through in her voice at the interruption.

"I'm just glad I got to you first," Anna started uneasily. "You should hear this from me."

"And that is…" Leo tried to get the information out of her.

"It's just… Leo… I have some bad news. I… I know Jackson filled you in on what happened to Trey and that the diamonds are still missing, and well… there is something new in the case."

"What's Jackson doing now?" Leo impatiently questioned Pine Valley's chief of police. "You know that guy has it in for me. Whatever phony stuff he's pulling on me now, you have to know he's lying!"

"It's not about you, Leo," Anna's voice came out softly. Leo and Greenlee could tell something about this had clearly upset her. "It's your brother, Leo. I had to arrest David for Trey's murder. He's now the prime suspect."

"But that can't be!" Greenlee cried out hysterically. "He was with me for lunch right before I ran off to the cabin. I can be his alibi!"

"I'm sorry you guys," Anna told them. "But David has no one to vouch for him from then until the time of Trey's death. And he didn't come into the hospital that afternoon until the two of you were already brought in. The gun that they found by Trey's body – the murder weapon – it was a gun that David had reported missing. He could easily have been connected to all this business about the diamonds, and it's all just too suspicious. There is nothing I can do, I'm sorry."

With that apology, Leo and Greenlee heard the click of Anna hanging up her phone.

"Oh my God. David. We have to help him," Greenlee worriedly told her husband.

"Definitely," Leo agreed. "So we're on the same side this time?"

"Absolutely," Greenlee nodded. "David was here for me during the worst time of my life; I can't let him rot away in prison for something he didn't do – and there is no way he did this. That man who tried so hard to take care of me is not a murderer."

"We're going to have to find out who really did this," Leo reasoned. "Then we'll all be free."

"Agreed," she said. "Let's go out by the cabin. There has to be some type of clue or anything out there that can help us prove it wasn't David."

"Oh no," Leo sternly told her. "You're in no condition for that kind of mission just yet. Besides, it's too dark by now to find anything. I could go out there in the morning, but I think we need to go straight to the source."

"What are you thinking?" Greenlee asked him, hoping her husband was onto something.

"No need to search for clues if we already know who is responsible for this, right?"

"But how can you…"

"Something I've been trying not to think about ever since my talk with Jackson," Leo explained. "But I can't avoid it anymore." Greenlee looked at him intently, hoping he was onto something. "Think about it for a second, Greens. Who showed up out of the blue in perfect timing to be part of Trey's scam, has been strangely sticking around you, and knew exactly where I was hiding?"

"No way," Greenlee told him. "You don't think…"

"That it's Ryan?" Leo finished her sentence. "Damn straight I do. Why else did he glue himself onto you? Last I checked he couldn't stand to be in the same room as you, no offense. He must have been searching for me, told Trey where I was, and then got rid of him to keep the diamonds for himself."

"I really don't think it's him," Greenlee stuttered uncomfortably, remembering what Ryan had let slip in the hospital.

"You've got to admit, Greenlee," Leo pushed on. "A lot of signs are pointing right at him."

"Except you don't know that's why he's been around," Greenlee questioned him, hoping to end this conversation.

"And you do?" Leo asked.

"Just a feeling," Greenlee said quietly, not wanting to tell him what she knew. He had enough issues right now with worrying about David. Getting him too fired up at Ryan couldn't be good for anyone.

"It's not like he doesn't have the con history to pull it off," Leo pointed out.

"So do you," Greenlee responded. "But that doesn't mean you're a murderer and neither is he."

"I'm sorry, Greens," Leo told her, moving his face up close to hers and looking deeply into her worried eyes. "I'll be careful, I promise; but I have to trust my instincts on this one." He kissed her on her forehead, trying to calm her nerves. "I'll be back soon."

Leo got up and quickly left the penthouse, leaving Greenlee to worry. "Oh boy, Leo," she said to the empty loft. "You're not going to be happy." Her mind raced through the possibilities of what Leo was going to do. Would he kill Ryan? Then he would be the one put away for life. But what if Leo was right and Ryan really did kill Trey? Would Ryan kill Leo? But if it was really Ryan, wouldn't he have been long gone from Pine Valley as soon as he got the money? He wouldn't have stayed long enough to visit the hospital, right? Even so, this couldn't end well. Where would Leo's mind be at if he had one of his best friends in love with his wife on top of his brother's life sentence to worry about? Greenlee pushed herself to her feet and gingerly made it to the phone, dialing someone who she knew could help her with Leo's inevitable frame of mind as she brought the phone back to the couch with her and let herself collapse back on its soft cushions.

"Simone, it's Greenlee," she said when her old friend answered her phone. "… yes, yes, I'm fine. I just got back from the hospital… I know, it's really great. So anyway, my near brush with death got me to thinking that maybe I was too harsh on you. What happened in the past doesn't matter anymore. And well, can we be friends again?... Great! But I need your help with something. Come over right away."


	14. A Surprise and a Surprise

Inside room 313 of the Valley Inn, Ryan stared at his plane ticket. Taking off on a bike again wasn't going to be enough; this time he needed to make his exit more permanent. Leaving the country was the only way he felt that he could escape the strange draw of this unusual Pennsylvania town. "Gate 215. Boarding time: 9:30," he read aloud. He looked back at his still open suitcase. All that was left to do was to zip it up and he was out of here; no goodbyes, just the fresh start he felt he so desperately needed. He grabbed the one thing still left to pack: a photo album sitting on the couch. He opened it up and looked at the pictures from his and Gillian's wedding. "This time I'm taking you with me, princess," he said to one of the pictures of his deceased wife. He wasn't going to leave any strings this time: just cut and run.

_Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock…_

Ryan looked at the door, annoyed by the repeatedly loud bangings. "Keep it down!" he yelled in frustration, putting the photo album on top of the rest of the stuff in his suitcase. "I heard you at the first knock, I'm coming." He walked to the door and opened it, his expression of frustration immediately turning into one of extreme nervousness when he saw the man standing at the door.

"Ryan," Leo stated matter of factly, walking right past Ryan into the room. "You don't look at all happy to see me." Leo's expression remained the same serious one that he had worn ever since he left the loft as he surveyed the room. "Oh, what's this?" Leo asked rhetorically as he noticed the open suitcase. "Going somewhere, Ryan?"

Ryan was very unsure of himself. Did Greenlee tell Leo about what he had told her at the hospital? "Yeah," Ryan stuttered. "I guess I did what I came here to do."

"That so?" Leo said, circling around the room and his uncomfortable host. "And exactly what was it that you came here to do?" Leo asked, willing to wait and see if Ryan would admit his part in the scheme for the diamonds.

Ryan cleared his throat, growing more worried. Leo was obviously on a mission and very ticked off at something. "Well, you know? I uh… I came back because you were supposedly dead. I thought I should be at the funeral and everything, but since here you are, I guess it's time for me to get back to my life."

"And what kind of life would that be?" Leo asked, still circling Ryan as he let his eyes wonder around the room. Ryan felt like prey about to be attacked; like Leo was just waiting for the right moment. "Come into some money recently, Ryan?"

"No, nothing like that," Ryan stammered. "I just really need a fresh start." Leo stopped circling Ryan and came up directly in front of his face. "And it looks like you might know why," Ryan finished uncomfortably.

"Do you know that David is in jail right now, Ryan?" Leo told him, some anger coming through in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Ryan told him, confused as to what he was getting at.

"Yeah, he's back in jail again," Leo repeated sternly. "For something he didn't do. And now Greenlee and I are stuck here again."

"You sound like you have a lot on your plate," Ryan responded, hoping that was the only reason Leo was acting so unlike his usual jovial self. "Is that what got you like this?"

Leo sneered and shook his head at Ryan, laughing on the inside at Ryan's audacity; as if he didn't know exactly why Leo was so upset. "You see, Ryan," Leo began talking to his old friend again. "Greenlee and I were finally sprung from the hospital this afternoon, and everything was great again. And then we get this phone call saying that David was arrested for killing our other brother." Ryan nodded through his anxiety, trying to stay in control. "And then Greenlee and I get to talking about it…"

"Oh my God," Ryan defeatedly shrugged, struggling to make eye contact with his friend. "She did tell you, didn't she? Look, it was all an accident, okay? I didn't mean for it to come out." Leo kept his stern expression as his mind wondered what was going on. If Ryan had told Greenlee about killing Trey, then why didn't she tell him?

"Okay," Ryan continued trying to do damage control. "I know this looks bad…"

"You think?" Leo rhetorically interrupted him.

"But you need to know that I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean for any of it. I don't know how it started. She was just so sad over losing you and I felt like I had to help her. So when I saw her in the hospital, after you left with Jack, I had to see her. And then everything just came out. I'm sorry, Leo. I never meant to tell your wife that I love her."

Leo's eyes shot open wider as he stared at Ryan for a couple seconds.

_Whack!_ Leo right fist slammed into Ryan's jaw and sent him down to one knee.

"What the hell did you say?" Leo yelled at Ryan as he stood up straight again.

"She didn't tell you?" Ryan stuttered.

"No, you just did!" Leo scolded him angrily as he thought to raise his right fist again, but then thought better of it and tried to calm himself back down. "So that's why you're leaving? It's not because you set David up for the diamonds?"

Ryan rubbed the spot on his cheek where Leo had hit him. "Leo, I don't even know what you're talking about."

"But what the hell happened to your big love for Kendall?" Leo animatedly exclaimed, wildly throwing his good right arm up into the air.

"Well," Ryan started, now able to look Leo in the eyes without feeling like a total creep. "I think that's exactly it. I mean, I think I just convinced myself that Kendall wasn't an option but those feelings had to go somewhere, and Greenlee needed help so… but I don't know."

"But _Greenlee_?" Leo looked at him with confusion as he struggled to wrap his mind around what he was just told. "I love my wife to death, but I would have thought you would fall in love with Myrtle before falling for Greenlee."

"So did I," Ryan agreed. "But I don't know; I mean, Greenlee has always had it going for her in the looks department, but now that she's also like a real person…"

_Whack!_

"Watch your mouth about my wife!" Leo pointed his finger at Ryan. This time, his punch had sent him all the way to the floor. Leo turned around on emotional overload, his right hand covering his forehead.

Ryan slowly got up, feeling like a creep once again. He patted down his shirt, wiping off some dust on it from his trip to the floor. "Are we okay, man?" Ryan asked uneasily, trying to make eye contact with Leo.

Leo gave him a quick glance, rolled his eyes, and loudly breathed out. "Where the hell do you get off, Lavery?" Leo exasperatedly said. "What the hell is wrong with you? I don't even know what to say to that! No, wait a second, I think I'm getting it now; I'm starting to see the pattern here. Gillian dies and that's hell for you, I get that. But where have you been since then? Liza is fighting with Adam, Mia is the new girl in town, Kendall has her mommy issues and nowhere to fit in, and now Greenlee was mourning for me. It's about finding a woman who is all nice and vulnerable and then hero Ryan has to swoop in and be the knight in shinning armor, right? And then our hero moves on before any of these women even realize what you did. Do you even know what love is anymore? Do you? Cause I can damn well bet that Gillian is looking down at you right now and it makes her sad to see what's going on with you!"

"Look, Leo…" Ryan tried to gracefully back out of this. "I know I'm still trying to fill that void from Gillian, but that doesn't mean I'm some woman hopping gigolo."

"What did you just say?" Leo furiously looked at Ryan.

"Oh my…" Ryan realized he had once again put his foot in his mouth. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded…," he tried stumbling through an apology. "…because you used to… I mean… I only meant…" Ryan paused as he watched Leo's expressions – his friend was fuming. There was no wining this one.

"You know," Leo told him through his clenched teeth, trying to resist the urge to hit him again. "I almost wish that you were the one that set David up. Unlike mindlessly using women to try and find a purpose, at least that would have taken some brain power, you know? Like a _real_ person." With that Leo stormed out, leaving a flabbergasted Ryan in his dust.

----------

Standing alone, Leo pressed the button to call for the elevator. His mind refused to give him any peace over Ryan. In fact, he couldn't even remember how he had gotten back to the apartment building. What had happened to his friend? He used to have so much respect for the man, but now… he didn't know what to think anymore.

Leo was so enveloped in his thoughts that he didn't even notice when the elevator finally opened. A woman exited and noticed him standing there mentally disheveled, as if the rest of the world around him had stop existing. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Leo? Earth to Leo?" Simone tried to wake him from his distracted state.

"Huh?"

Simone giggled at him. "Wow, Greenlee was right. You look like you've been run over by a truck."

Leo looked down at her, but still couldn't focus in on his surroundings.

Simone lightly slapped his cheek. "Leo! Wake up! You were waiting for the elevator, right?" She walked backwards and put her hand into the elevator to stop it from closing behind her. "Well, it's waiting for you."

"Oh… yeah," Leo acknowledged without a change of expression. He walked inside and stood there lost in thought.

"You might want to hit the button for your floor," Simone pointed out.

"Yeah, sure. Good idea," Leo answered, but not making any movements to do what he was told.

"Holy cow," Simone studied him carefully. "This is worse than Greenlee said." Leo still didn't move. "Leo, you do remember Greenlee, right?"

"Greenlee?" Leo picked his head up. His wife's name brought him a little bit back to reality. "Right. Greenlee's probably waiting for me." His thoughts turned to Greenlee. Why hadn't she told him about Ryan? It looked like the two of them were going to have to have a little talk.

Simone noticed his brief return from the mentally dead when she mentioned Greenlee's name. She chuckled, thinking about what was about to happen. "Yes, Leo. Greenlee is waiting for you. And she happens to have a surprise for you; something to snap you out of this little funk." Simone walked inside the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor of the building. "Have a good night, Leo!" she called to him as she walked back out, not letting him see the smirk on her face as she walked away.

"Good night," Leo half-heartedly responded as the doors shut in front of him. His thoughts went to David, worrying about his brother being back in his home away from home. Then they came back to Ryan and how far his friend had fallen. Then his thoughts turned to Greenlee, the one constant in his life. He couldn't wait to get back in that loft and hug his wife, and never let go of the security and comfort that came with that.

_Bing_

The elevator doors opened into the little hallway outside the penthouse. Leo violently shook his head as he stepped out, trying to banish all of the thoughts that were tormenting him. It was after all his first night back in the loft with Greenlee in God knows how long, and he was going to make it a peaceful one.

He fumbled in his pocket for his key as he walked forward, almost walking smack into the door as he finally got them out; looked like he wasn't all the way back in the real world yet. He took a deep breath to try and clear his mind as he reached over to open the lock. He finally noticed a small, folded in half, white piece of paper covering the keyhole. Confused, he unfolded it and saw the message inside:

"_Still waiting on that French lingerie. Let's fix that! Love ya, baby." _

He looked confused as he held the letter. It looked like his handwriting, but he was writing little things like that all the time for Greenlee to find. He finally opened the lock and pushed on the door.

His jaw dropped open as he walked in. Candles encircled the dimly lit room. A straight line of rose peddles on the floor led his eyes to the couch and to Greenlee. She stood up when she saw him, discretely pushing on the arm of the couch for support so as to look as graceful as possible for her husband. Black silk hugged the non-exposed half of her petite frame, leaving very little to the imagination. She slowly twirled around, making sure that her husband got a good look at all sides of her. She giggled, waiting for a reaction from a mesmerized Leo as he stood by the door, his mouth still wide open. "Well," she smiled, enjoying his reaction. "What do you think?"

Leo gulped and walked up towards her, putting his arms around her waist. "I think… I think _wow_."

Greenlee smiled in satisfaction, noticing she had his undivided attention. "Yeah well, I thought you might need some distraction after seeing Ryan."

"Who?"

"I guess I haven't lost my touch," Greenlee let out a low laugh.

A still mesmerized Leo looked down lovingly at his wife. "Oh baby, how did I ever deserve you?" He moved his head forward and tilted it sideways, getting a more direct look at her upper half. "Baby, can you do me one little favor?" Leo asked, a sly smile covering his face.

"Anything."

"Can you do that twirling thing one more time?" he asked her with a glimmer in his eyes. Greenlee laughed and put out her hand for him to hold. He grabbed it and held it up high, letting her twirl around underneath. He shook his head in disbelief at the gorgeous site before his eyes. She motioned for him to kiss her and he did, with everything he had. She let his hands hold her up as they kissed while she reached for his shirt, working quickly to remove it. "It's been too long," she hummed as Leo started kissing her neck.

"Wait a minute," Leo said unconvincingly, backing off. "Are you sure you can handle this, Greenlee? I mean, David did say we should take it easy." Greenlee ignored him and pulled his head back down to her and kissed him passionately. After few moments, Greenlee let his mouth free. "David did say to take it easy," she grinned seductively. "So…" she reached for a string coming from her negligee, pulling it out and letting her outfit drop to the floor; only a bra and a thong remained. "…go easy on me."

A rush of passion flowed through Leo as he looked down wide-eyed at Greenlee. That was all he could handle; he was broken down and completely helpless. He bent down and picked her up over his shoulder with his good arm, carrying her to the bedroom, spurred on by the glorious sound of her laughter.


	15. A Fresh Start

Leo slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Both of his arms lay around Greenlee, still in the exact same position that they had fallen asleep in together the night before. He smiled, looking over his wife's shoulder and noticing the satisfied smile on her face as she slept; and enjoying the hell out of fact that neither of them had any clothes on. Last night had been pure bliss. He thought he had reached the pinnacle of intimacy all those years ago at the Pine Cone, when he and Greenlee finally gave in to their feelings. How was anything supposed to top that first time that they discovered just how deep a connection they had? But no, back from the dead sex topped it. Last night, all they needed to do was look into each other's eyes and they felt the most amazing electricity. It was the most intense night of his life. He looked over to the clock in the corner of the room: 12:30pm. It seemed a little late, but Leo had no idea what time the two of them had finally made it to sleep.

Greenlee, somehow sensing that Leo was awake, began to stretch out on her side of the bed, gradually waking herself up. Leo brushed the back of her hair off to the side and kissed her exposed nape. She moaned with pleasure and turned her body around to face Leo. "Morning, Leo," she smiled.

"Afternoon, Greenlee," Leo responded.

Greenlee bit down on her lower lip, letting another moan of pleasure escape her. "I had the most incredible dream last night," she told him in her soft, just woke up voice. "Wanna hear?" Leo's smile grew wider, urging her to go on. "In my wonderful dream," she continued happily. "The love of my life came back from the dead and we made sweet, passionate, beautiful love all night long. It was heaven."

"Sounds real nice, Greens," Leo smirked. "I'm sorry that you had to wake up."

"I'm still dreaming," she told him, putting her hand between his head and his pillow, caressing his cheek with her thumb. She moved her head forward, extending her lips to meet his. "Last night was the most incredible, amazing night, wasn't it?"

"So I take it you're feeling fine?" Leo asked her seriously. "We didn't push it too hard?"

"I feel so much better than fine," she answered, unable to stop grinning. "I feel you, and I feel alive, and I feel so absurdly happy."

"Me too," Leo told her, rubbing his hand over her exposed chest and the bottom of her neck. "You always know exactly what I need, Greens. I was a mess before I got back here, but you knew exactly how to get my mind clear again; to make me feel centered again. But I'm wondering how you did all that. How did you set up the room and everything when you couldn't even walk when I left?"

"Simone and I patched things up," Greenlee explained, enjoying Leo's touch. "This is the new and improved Greenlee you're dealing with. This Greenlee is too happy with life to hold grudges. So we talked everything out and she set the place up and helped me get changed and everything. I always knew she didn't mean to hurt me, but I didn't know I could really get over it until you came back."

"Oh that's what she was saying," Leo realized. "I bumped into her on my way in, but I was pretty much sleepwalking through it. I don't even remember a word she said to me." Greenlee stared into his eyes, a devilish sparkle coming through her own brown beauties. "What's that look?" Leo asked.

"You're lucky I know you so well," she replied. Leo nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah, I'm very lucky."

"So do you need to talk about what happened with Ryan?" Greenlee asked.

"I guess it was exactly what you knew would happen," Leo answered her. "He told me about what he thought he was feeling."

"And…"

"Um… I hit him," Leo told her with a sheepish smile. Greenlee covered her mouth with her hand as she tried to hold back her laughter. "Oh, you think that's funny?" Leo asked, reaching his hands under the blanket. "I'll show you funny," he smiled, tickling her bare navel. "Stop! Stop it!" Greenlee cried for mercy through her laughter. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Greenlee chuckled when he let her go. "But I thought Roger was the only person you knew how to hit." Leo chuckled and reached his hand back under the covers, threatening to tickle her again. "Come on, when it comes to you, Greens, I'd punch anyone. And I'll have you know Miss my-husband-is-a-softy that I actually hit him twice."

"Ooh," Greenlee raised an eyebrow. "Bringing out your inner alpha male."

"Hey, if you heard what he said about you…"

"Aww," Greenlee looked lovingly at Leo. "Defending my honor – my hero."

"Always," Leo brought his hands back up to his wife's face and sighed. "But Ryan looked like he was skipping town last night. I don't think he wants to look either of us in the face ever again."

"Works for me," Greenlee told him. A sly smile crept to her face as a thought occurred to her. "I can't wait to tell Kendall why he left," Greenlee laughed. "I'm going to hold this over her head for the rest of her life."

Leo rolled his eyes and laughed at her. "What happened to my new and improved, too happy with life for grudges Greenlee?"

"One grudge at a time, Leo," Greenlee answered. "Can't take all the bark out of the bitch."

"Got it; the world isn't ready yet to see Greenlee Smythe duPres the way I see her. We'll go one step at a time. And speaking of you going one step at a time, how about you let me take care of that right now?"

"What do you have in mind?" Greenlee smiled.

"I was just thinking," Leo smirked. "I know you're moving okay on a bed…" Greenlee interrupted him by playfully hitting his shoulder. "But if you're still having trouble on your feet," Leo went on. "Instead of a shower, maybe I can draw a bath for the both of us. And then afterwards we can go out to the woods and see what we can find, what do you say?"

Greenlee licked her lips. "Sounds perfect," she smiled.

_Ring ring!_

"Damn, we need to unplug that thing," Leo ruefully told his wife, reaching for a towel sitting beside the bed and tying it to his waist.

"So ignore it," Greenlee reached for Leo's arm. "And stay in bed with me a little bit longer."

Leo leaned back over and kissed his wife. "Love to, baby. But I should get that in case it's Jackson or Anna."

"Or it could be Revlon wondering what happened to my mourning time off," Greenlee mumbled, sitting herself up straight on the bed and bringing the covers up with her, holding them up against her over her breasts as a top.

"Hello," Leo answered the phone. "Anna, what's the problem?… why can't you tell me over the phone?… okay, we're on our way." _click_

"What did Anna want?" Greenlee asked her husband curiously. "Did they find something? Is David off the hook?"

Leo looked back at his wife with a confused look on his face. "She didn't tell me," Leo told her. "She just said that we needed to see something and come down to her office. Something about there being good news and bad news."

----------

"duPres!" one of the officers called out to Leo from his desk. "The chief is waiting for you two in her office."

Leo thanked the man with a wave and continued walking ahead with Greenlee. He had his arm resting over her shoulder as she had hers tightly wrapped around his waist. Once again, Greenlee had insisted on getting no other help than the support of her husband's large frame. It was bad enough that she wasn't her usual graceful self in private, but no one was ever allowed to see her showing any signs of weakness in public. She lifted her neck up at Leo, his cue to bend down to her. "Let's hurry it up, Leo," she whispered in his ear. "Everyone is staring at us and I really need to get off my feet and sit down."

Leo tried to oblige her and pick up their pace, but her dragging legs still limited them. It took them about fifteen more seconds to walk the length of the room to Anna's office where Leo used his free hand to knock slightly before pushing the door open. "We're here," he announced before even looking into the room. Anna sat at her desk. She looked worn down, as if she had just finished a frustrating argument. In the corner of the room stood a man that Leo was shocked to see: David! He had been facing the wall but turned around when he heard Leo and Greenlee enter the office. "Hey!" Leo looked happily at his older brother. He helped Greenlee over to the chair in front of Anna's desk and then walked over to David, giving him a hug. He could tell David was happy to see the two of them, but something was clearly bothering him.

"Does this mean your free, David?" Greenlee hoped.

David gave his sister-in-law a half-smile and nodded. Leo softly hit his brother's chest with the back of his hand to get his attention back. "Come on, bro, why the long face? You're free!"

"I can explain that," Anna interrupted. She held up a video tape and put it in a VCR next to her desk. "Someone brought this in this morning," she explained as she inserted the tape. "The man is a zoologist doing some studies on the deer that are always hanging around the woods. He left a camera rolling out there and when he was going over the tape, he found something you two need to see."

She pressed play as Leo settled up next to Greenlee, sitting down on one knee on the floor. They saw Trey lying on the ground in pain, and then two figures approaching him: a large man and… Vanessa! Greenlee gasped at seeing her and immediately buried her face down in Leo chest, not wanting to see another second of the tape. Leo held her tightly as he kept an eye on the screen. He watched his mother mocking his helpless brother, he watched her take the diamonds, and he watched her walk away as the other man picked up a gun… _bang_!

"So as you can tell," Anna told them softly. "The good news is that David is free. And the bad news… well… you just saw it."

Leo held Greenlee close to him as he tried to comfort her, rubbing his hand up and down the back of her hair. "Don't worry, baby. She won't get near you again I promise you." He turned up to Anna. "What are you doing about this? Go find her, damn it!"

Anna took a deep breath as she watched Leo hold a terrified Greenlee. The look in his eyes was one of pain and worry. The man had already risked everything to save Greenlee from his mother, and now he found out that they were no better off for it. But she could see he was still willing to do anything to protect the woman he loved. Anything. She remembered a time when David was able to give her that feeling.

"We're checking the security camera of every airport within 150 miles to find out where she went, Leo. But the chances of us getting to her… I mean, even if we can find out where Vanessa went she probably left the country right after she got the diamonds. She is days ahead of us by now. The chances of us getting to her now…" Anna's voice trailed off in apology, knowing the reaction she was going to get.

"Great!" Leo shot back, still holding his wife in his arms. "So we're just supposed to sit around and wait for my mother to find us again!"

Greenlee let her head back away from Leo. She looked straight through his eyes, looking for the feeling of security that always came from his loving gaze. David immediately recognized the look. It was the same one he saw from her at the hospital, the same one that held a woman scared to death about the future. But this time it wasn't only about an uncertain future, but her very own life. If Vanessa was alive and on the loose, she was going to come after Greenlee again; everyone in that room knew it. It was only a matter of when. Leo put his hands on her neck, letting his fingers glide up and down. "No escaping her," Greenlee finally choked out. "What are we going to do, Leo?"

"I have an idea about that," Anna responded from behind her desk. "It may sound a bit radical though." David knew it was going to happen. He saw how scared Greenlee was and he knew his brother was at the point where nothing on the planet could stop him from protecting her. "I've been on the phone all morning with some contacts and I have a plan for you two." Leo and Greenlee looked up at her intently, urging her to continue on. "I can set you up with a new life; a completely fresh start. Think of it as a witness protection type of thing with the two of you getting completely new lives where Vanessa will never be able to find you."

"And say goodbye to everything?" Leo asked.

"No one will know were you are, including David," Anna confirmed. "I can't offer you Paris because Vanessa will think to look there but I can promise you I won't stick you in Alaska or some other place you wouldn't be able to enjoy. I can have you set up by tonight."

Leo and Greenlee looked at each other in silent assessment, trying to read the other's thoughts. Leo then looked up at David as if to ask his approval. "Come on," David laughed. "I know you both want to be free of this town. And I know you're both still packed and ready to go from when you were planning on leaving us for Paris, so you've got no excuse there." Leo looked back into Greenlee's eyes. Smiles crossed their faces at the same moment: "Looks like we're out of here," Leo declared.

Anna smiled; glad she could give the happy pair the new start to their lives that they had been craving for months, but also sad for David, knowing how much he'd miss them. "Well then," she stated, trying to hide her mixed emotions. "I should give the three of you a private family moment to say goodbye and all." She walked around her desk towards the door but Leo grabbed her arm as she past him. He stood up and hugged her. "Thank you, Anna," he told her when he broke away. "Thank you so much for everything." "Thank you," Greenlee agreed from her seat. "You'll never know what you've done for us."

"Oh, I think I have an idea," Anna smiled back. She walked out of the office leaving David alone with the couple to say his goodbyes.

David fidgeted uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. This was the best thing that could happen for his brother and sister-in-law, but oh man did he hate goodbyes. There were only so many people in the world that he cared about, and he was about to lose two of them. "So…" he clapped his hands together; a slight quiver coming through in his voice. "What happens now?"

Leo came up in front of him and stared at him for a few moments. David waited for Leo to make the first move – it was safer that way. Leo wrapped his arms around his older brother in a huge hug. One hand lay on David's back and the other on the back of his head. David was shocked to feel his eyes moistening up – this was truly goodbye. "I'm going to miss you," Leo told him, still holding on tight. "Same here," David choked out, patting Leo's back. "Damn," David brushed away a tear as Leo let go. "I didn't think I was going to cry. This is happy, you know? You're finally escaping your no good family and getting the life you deserve."

Leo smiled at David. "Yeah, but I'm still going to miss you. You better take good care of my future niece or nephew because one day I'm going to meet that kid and make sure you didn't screw him or her up too much, alright?"

"Yeah," David wiped away some more tears. "I'll do my best."

"My turn?" Greenlee interrupted from her seat. David smiled and walked in front of her. He kneeled down to be face to face with Greenlee and she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Remember," she told him, rubbing her thumb over the spot where she kissed him. "No one is left to cover up your messes anymore so make sure you stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Okay," David agreed, trying to hold back some more tears.

"And good luck with everything," Greenlee continued. "Remember what I told you at the Valley Inn? Show Anna the person you've shown me. I know she'll take you back, just don't give up on her. You deserve a family with her and your baby."

"Sure, sis. I'll try."

Greenlee opened her arms, inviting David to hug her. "Leo's not the only one who is going to really miss you," she whispered in his ear when he wrapped his arms around her. "I owe you my life David. None of this would be possible without you. You're a good person; never forget that."

David laughed as he backed away. "You better take good care of my brother. He deserves a life of nothing but happiness."

"I'll make sure of that," Greenlee told him, wiping away some tears of her own.

Leo smiled watching them. "That was cute," he mocked. "Too bad you couldn't make that kind of impression on her before, David. Having this one on your side helps keep those jail trips short."

David laughed, realizing it was the last time he would ever laugh at one of his brother's jokes. As long as it wasn't safe they were going to be out of his life. Out of his life for good.


	16. Life Goes On

Author's note: I'm a little surprised that I really finished this, but it was fun to write. Thank you to everyone who read it. It does have sequel potential and I do have a couple of ideas about that if I decide to go there, and anyone is welcome to send me ideas. I hope you all enjoyed!

* * *

Danny Hamilton looked into his sons' bedroom and watched him sitting dejectedly on his bed. He sighed, hating his son being sad for even a second, but this was the way it had to be until his wife returned – she was due back any second anyway.

Danny had a love for life that was contagious, and that was the reason why all his neighbors loved him. And what was there to not love about life? By all accounts, he had a wonderful, stable, middle class life with his wife and two children. He worked at the local recreation center even though he was never much of a sports player, but his tall and muscular body did make him look the part of someone who knew his way around a gym. The job was low stress and had flexible hours, allowing him to always be home when the kids were there, while his wife ran her own small clothing store. Even without the stress, he had spotted his first white hair that morning. That was his first clue that he had really reached his forties. But the thin hair was still hardly noticeable against the rest of his short dark hair. He strolled around the kitchen wearing a plain white tee shirt and jeans, eagerly waiting for his wife to come back from work.

He had met her back in college at UCLA. She was feeling uncharacteristically awkward during orientation, that being her first day ever on campus in a school where she had no friends. She was walking through a patch of grass, her eyes looking down at the schedule in her hand, when she walked right into Danny and fell to the ground. Danny helped her up as she threw insults in his direction, trying to make any onlookers think that her falling down was his fault; but the beautiful petite woman caught his eye nonetheless. He played along and offered to make it up to her by taking her out to lunch and whalah… love! They were inseparable all through college and were married the week after she graduated… At least that was the story that they told everyone. It was a cute story; and much more family friendly than the real one – the one involving a white robe and black panties.

"Honey, I'm home," a woman's voice happily called out upon opening the front door.

Danny's trademark smile grew larger as he greeted his wife with a kiss. "Welcome back, gorgeous. I hope work didn't tire you out too much." He snickered at thinking about his plans for the evening… as long as he could make sure to let her take it easy on their son.

Sarah Hamilton put her purse down on the table next to the door. She wore a light pink one-piece sleeveless outfit that only covered most of her bust and stopped just below her knees. The store had been a little bit busier that day, and not just with the typical female clientele. They weren't coming in for her shinning personality either. Danny still liked to tease her about her knack for rubbing people the wrong way. If they only knew how she used to be… He knew she had grown by leaps and bounds from the self-centered, spoiled schemer she was when they had first met. But some things were the same from back then. She was back to wearing long, dirty blonde hair; and even though she was right on the brink of forty, she still made heads turn when she walked by. Sarah knew her outfit had drawn her some extra shoppers today, but it was the heat of summer – what else was she going to wear? And if it got her some extra business, so be it.

"Work was fine, but I missed those dazzling smiles of yours and David's," she smiled, but was disappointed that all she got was a single peck on the lips. "One more, one more," she insisted, leaning her head up. Danny obliged, kissing her again.

"Did Holly call here while I was gone?" Sarah asked.

Danny tilted his head at her. "No, you didn't!" he said disbelievingly. "Can you go a day without calling her?"

Sarah breathed out loudly and defensively opened her mouth wide in shock. "She's my little girl, Danny; my baby girl. And it's her first summer away at sleep-away camp – away from me, and I just like hearing her voice, that's all. So fine, maybe I tried calling her during my lunch break again, but I couldn't reach her."

Danny laughed at his wife. He knew her heart was in the right place. She loved her two precious children with everything she had, and she was determined to make sure they always felt like she loved them. She knew what it was like to be ignored as a child – they both did – and she wanted nothing more than to never let her children feel that same emptiness that she grew up with. It was just that sometimes she couldn't help but try too hard and smother them a little bit. "She's thirteen already, Sarah. She's a big girl and I'm sure she's doing just fine."

"Well, where's my favorite little guy?" she asked, inquiring about David. David was their ten year old son. He was spending his summer days at day camp and his nights mostly either playing video games, playing his friends at video games, or thinking up new ideas for video games. He had his fathers' defined cheeks and his mothers' cute little nose. His eyes were brown and deep, just like both his parents; those things were going to melt a lot of hearts one day. He also inherited his parents' knack for getting into trouble, no matter how well-meaning he was.

"He's in his room," Danny answered. "We're waiting on your verdict, my dear. But I vote to go easy. David! Your mother and I need to talk to you!"

David quickly emerged from his room, putting on a pouting show for his mother to gain her sympathy. He was a smart kid and knew exactly how weak his mother was for her children. Still, while getting dad to do what he wanted was easy, his mother did have her moments when he went too far.

"Please don't ground me, mom," he pleaded. "Ben's sleepover party is tonight and I really want to go."

"What exactly did you do?" Sarah asked him, bending down to be at eye level with her son. David turned his eyes downwards and began nervously brushing his right foot back and forth on the floor.

"Mrs. Wright called earlier," Danny answered for his son. "Not happy."

"What else is knew from that…" Sarah countered without thinking, catching herself before letting out the b word in front of her son. Mrs. Wright was one of the many people Sarah had met in this town that she routinely disagreed with.

"She said that her daughter came home crying today because David kissed her."

"So the little squirt got some action," Sarah smirked. "What's the big deal? I mean, look at the gorgeous face on this guy," she pointed to David.

"She was crying," Danny went on, stressing the beginning of his sentence to let her know he was serious. "Because she felt taken advantage of. David, why don't you tell her what happened?"

David kept his eyes on the floor. "David?" his father repeated. "If you want any chance of going to that party, it goes through your mother, so please tell her what happened."

"I kissed Jenny because Tom and Billy said I was too chicken. They bet me five dollars I couldn't do it, so I did. I didn't want to look like a chicken in front of all my friends, mom!"

"You kissed her for money?" Sarah asked rhetorically, letting it process. "David, I… What would you do if someone took advantage of your sister like that? I don't think you would be too happy about it. I know you want to look cool in front of your friends but that's not the way to do it. You made that girl feel like she means less than some stupid five dollar bet. Girls don't like feeling used and worthless like that."

"I know, mom. I'll apologize to her tomorrow and I really am sorry. Please don't ground me."

"Why don't you give your mother and I a minute, buddy?" Danny told his son from behind Sarah. He winked at him letting him know that he had his back.

Sarah sighed as she watched David head back into his room. "Using women for money," Sarah pointed out, shaking her head in disappointment but twitching her nose to hide a slight smile. "Like father like son?"

Danny laughed. "If he's anything like his father, he just needs to find the right one. Come on, he's just being a kid. It's not that big a deal." He pulled his wife up against him, leaving her face inches away from his. "Besides, I want to party tonight. You do know what tonight is?" He leaned his head forward to whisper in her ear. "It's July 15th. Today is our fifteenth anniversary, Greenlee, and I want to celebrate."

She pushed on his chest with her hand and looked back to make sure David wasn't eavesdropping on them. "We just celebrated our e_ighteenth _anniversary a couple of months ago, _Danny_," she corrected him, placing extra stress on his changed name.

"But I know you don't want my plans to go for naught, baby," he replied pulling her closer again.

"A romantic dinner?" Sarah asked, starting to lose her resolve just like she always did when he held her close to him.

"If we ever get to it," Danny grinned.

"What then? Did you want to hit the beach? It's been a lot of years, _Danny_. You sure you still want to show off your wife in a swimsuit?"

"Oh please, like you don't still put those twenty-somethings to shame," he chuckled. "No, I was thinking someplace a little bit closer, but we could use some privacy. So maybe we can let David go to his party and we'll deal with this tomorrow." He kissed her lips and then turned her around and started kissing her neck, brushing her long hair out of the way first.

"That's so not fair," Sarah moaned with pleasure. "You know I can't think straight when you do that."

"That a yes?" he asked, moving his mouth up to nibble on her earlobe.

She nodded through her heavy breathing and turned around to kiss her husband. After a couple moments of passionate kissing, she backed off and wiped away the sweat that had just formed on her forehead from reasons other than the hot weather. "David!"

David ran out as soon as he heard her call. He was energized at hearing the excitement in her voice, knowing that if she was going to punish him, she would have sounded much less enthusiastic. She kept her eyes locked on Danny's handsome face and rested her hands on his muscular chest.

"Whoa," David exclaimed uncomfortably as he saw his parents in each other's arms. "You have that weird look on your faces again. It freaks me out."

Sarah cleared her throat and looked down at her only son. "David, you can go to Ben's party. But we are going to have a long talk about this tomorrow, okay? So don't think you're completely off the hook."

David's face brightened up. "Really? Thank you!" He burst for the door to leave to Ben's – an easy trip since Ben lived only two houses down.

"Wait a minute," Sarah called. "You go only once I get a hug." David's shoulders sunk a little as he headed back for his mother. He loved her, not that he was comfortable saying those words explicitly, but did she always have to be so touchy-feely? "I love you," she told him, hugging him tight. "You too," David answered, trying to stealthily pull himself free to leave for Ben's house.

Sarah watched him run out the door and walked over to the window to watch and make sure that he got to the house alright. Leo came up behind her and put his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head. "You worry too much, Greenlee," Leo told her.

"I just love him so much, Leo," she told him. "Him and Holly both. Is that so terrible?"

"What? Loving too much? Of course not. But sooner or later you're going to have to realize that leaving them alone for a little while or letting them walk two houses without you watching doesn't mean that they don't know how much you love them. They are the two luckiest kids in the world to have you and all the love you have to give them as their mother."

Greenlee turned around to her husband and cupped his chin lovingly. "Thanks Leo. I know I try too hard sometimes, but too much attention is better than none, right? We both know that all too well."

"We do," he agreed, reaching over and closing the window shade. "So are you ready to give the other man in your life too much attention?" He rubbed his hands up her arms and over her shoulders, admiring the smooth feel of her skin. Even after all these years together, he only found her more and more attractive.

"I'm so ready," Greenlee purred, placing her hands on the back of Leo's neck and pulling his face down to hers. They stood connected, engulfed in passion for a couple blissful minutes, enjoying the taste of each other. Leo slowly and regretfully backed his head away, his heart never wanting to take his lips off of hers but his head telling him that he wasn't done yet. He extended his hand to her with a slight bow of the head. She accepted it and let him lead her towards their bedroom. He slowly opened the door and let her enter first, enjoying watching her as her jaw dropped and her hand rushed up over her heart. Rose pedals surrounded the room. A bright red banner hung over the bedpost: "I love you. Happy anniversary," it read. A brown box with a note attached sat on the middle of the bed. Greenlee looked at Leo in anticipation and he let her know it was okay to take it. Leo joyfully leaned on the door and watched her jump happily for the box; there was still no greater pleasure in the world to him then being able to put a smile on that beautiful face. She sat on the bed and peeled the note off of the box and read it to herself:

"_Happy anniversary, baby. These last fifteen years have been the best of my life. I keep thinking I've reached the peak of happiness but then I spend another year with you and I'm proven wrong. Every year; every month; every week; every day; every minute; every second with you brings me to new levels of joy that I never imagined I could experience. I told you I could live anywhere with you, because as long as I'm with you I'm home. So no matter where we are, here's to fifteen more, and fifteen more after that, and fifteen more after that to infinity. I love you more than life itself. – Your loving husband."_

"Leo," she said his name softly and appreciatively at his written words. They had touched her soul. He walked up and sat next to her on the bed. Greenlee caressed his cheek affectionately, thinking what she could possibly tell him that could match that.

"Don't worry about it," Leo read her like an open book. "You don't have to say anything; it's all written in your eyes."

"Still… thank you. Thank you, Leo, for giving me a hundred percent of you every single day and for giving me my two precious children. I'm so incredibly happy right now and that's all thanks to you." Greenlee kissed him on the cheek. "God I love you. Thank you for being my life, Leo."

"My pleasure. But now that I gave you my letter for you, it's time you open your gift for me."

"What do you mean for you?" Greenlee asked looking back towards the box. She picked it up and shook it slightly, finding it to be very light. "Your clue is at the bottom," Leo pointed out. She turned it over and saw a message in black marker written there in Leo's handwriting: "Imported from Paris." Greenlee's eyes lit up, now realizing what Leo meant that the gift was also for him. She grabbed the box and kissed Leo. "I love you," he told her. "Happy anniversary." "I love you too," Greenlee smiled. She hurried towards the bathroom to change into her new gift. Stopping at the door, she turned back to Leo and struck a seductive pose: "Give me a minute and I'll show you just how much."


End file.
